Qatar delivers a new record with a work of art: Largest painting on canvas underlines passion for the FIFA World Cup

Qatar has vowed to make the 2022 FIFA World Cup the best-ever in history and the promise has been completed, with an excellent tournament put on by the hosts both on and off the pitch.

While the state-of-the-art venues were deemed perfect by teams, the FIFA Fan Festivals were also excellent ways for fans to spend their time, either watching other teams play or enjoying themselves and celebrating Qatari culture.

Now, Qatar has made another step to history, as local artist Imad Salehi entered the Guinness Books of Records certifying he painted the largest painting on canvas in the world.

The 9,652-square metre work, titled ‘The Story of a Ball’, officially entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest painting in the world at the ceremony and it was just apt for the moment, with Qatar delivering once again on the biggest of stages, as it totally merges the history of football with the modern presentation of the FIFA World Cup.

The artwork has become the largest painting in the world to enter the Guinness Book of Records over the dimensions of the football stadium, located at Qatar University, far surpassing the painting “The Journey of Humanity” by British painter Sacha Jaffrey, which was registered in the Guinness Book of Records last year, as the largest painting painted on canvas in the world.

The painting tells the story of a ball and recalls the history of football, explaining the nature of the balls used throughout the competition, from the first edition in 1930, while also touching on the previous host countries of the tournament. The former FIFA World Cup winners are also celebrated, as well as the best players and scorers in all the previous editions of the competition, with history and greatness underlined once again in the painting.

According to the painter himself, the work of art drastically modeled the world of art, especially the contemporary part, combining the heritage of the FIFA World Cup with modernity.

The work of art is set in a stadium in Doha, covering the pitch, in a picturesque effort that really underlines the resilience of Qatari artists.

During the inaugural ceremony, a video was shown about the stages of completion of the huge artwork, and a tour was organized to get a closer look at the artistic painting drawn on canvas. Following this, the Guinness Book of Records certificate was handed over, marking its entry into the record book, in the presence of the media.

“This whole idea started with the ball story which is the history of the World Cup. I took it as a challenge and wanted to present it for Guinness World Record to coincide with the World Cup here in Qatar. I mixed Arabic culture with other cultures. When you explore the painting you can see the history of football. I have painted more than 10,000 figures on the entire canvas,” said Salehi.

In his speech on this occasion, the artist, Emad Salehi, said that he used large quantities of dyes, cloth and brushes to paint the painting in order to achieve a historical legacy that embodies the football march during the World Cup, indicating that he needed more than 3 thousand liters of dyes and more than 150 liters of paint to complete it. brush and the average daily work was between 14 and 18 hours.

“We salute the creative artist, Imad Salehi, and the Ministry of Culture is glad of the existence of competitive worldwide projects to which everyone contributes. Records that are directly or indirectly related to the culture have been established before. This album, which aspires to bring the globe together through art and sport, is released at the same time that Qatar is holding the World Cup,” said Maryam Yassin al-Hammadi, director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture.