Although the London carrier has long been banned from accepting ads from countries that violate human rights, the World Cup in Qatar has been exempt from the ban – until now. After the Londoners’ decision, Qatar became angry and threatened to withdraw its investments.
The decision came late, but now the City of London carrier is serious about it: in protest of the human rights abuses committed in Qatar, the host country of the World Cup, from now on there will be no more advertisements for the Middle Eastern country. On city buses and subways. TfL has confirmed to the Financial Times that it will no longer run such ads from this week. SPIEGEL.
In fact, the carrier stopped advertising from countries where homosexuality is criminalized years ago, at the behest of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. However, by the time of the World Cup, Qatar was exempt from the ban and could continue with its tourism campaign, which was suddenly halted.
Qatari money is everywhere in London
In the wake of the unexpected decision, Qatar announced that it would review its current and planned investments in London and other British cities, reports the Financial Times, citing a Qatari source. An insider told the newspaper that there is an impression that Qatari investment is not welcome in the British capital and that the British are accused of double standards.
In recent decades, Qatari investment has been ubiquitous in London: the luxury department store Harrods is owned by Qatari investors, as is the gigantic Shard skyscraper, which at 310 meters is the tallest building in Western Europe. Qatari investors own stakes in Britain’s largest airport, Heathrow, and several hotel chains. In addition, the desert country is an important supplier of energy to the UK, for example through tankers that supply liquefied gas to the island country.
