Jump to content

A Middle Eastern Olympics


Recommended Posts

  • 1 year later...

Dubai's Olympic Games ambitions still valid: officials

DUBAI, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Gulf Arab sheikdom plans to expand its existing sports facilities across the emirate and eyes submitting a bid to host Olympic Games, officials of the government said here on Wednesday.

Ali Omar, the director of Dubai Sports Council (DSC) sports development department, said that submitting a candidature as host city to the international Olympic committee was still on the agenda.

"Hosting the Olympics is a dream. We hope to submit such a bid within the next eight years, God willing," he said.

The next two Olympic Games will be held in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The bidding process for the host city for 2024 has not yet started. Berlin has expressed interest in bidding for the Games in 10 years.

Omar said that Qatar did a good job to win the FIFA World Cup in 2022. "Qatar's move put professional sports in the whole Gulf Arab region in the focus of the world's attention," he added. In December of 2006, Qatar's capital Doha hosted the 15th Asian Games as the first Arab city ever.

While Dubai managed to attract numerous international sports competition in various disciplines like tennis (Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix), table tennis (GAC GROUP 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals), swimming or diving, a major event has yet to taken home.

With the Dubai Sports City, Dubai harbors a complete district that provides football and cricket stadiums as well as sports academies on a surface of 50 million square feet.

Bringing the Asian Cup to Dubai would also be an option, said Dr. Ahmed Al Sharif, the DSC secretary general. He briefed the media on Dubai's achievements of hosting professional sportive events and of enhancing sport facilities and events on health for the general public.

Al-Sharif said that Dubai has built a number of high-tech stadiums, and more stadiums and facilities would be needed across the emirate for a bid for a major global competition in sports.

XInhua

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/140806/dubais-olympic-games-ambitions-still-valid-officials

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't mind a Summer Olympics and Paralympics being Hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, although I can't see them Hosting it anytime soon, with Rome, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles and Durban all interested in Hosting. I think Dubai will be the First Middle East Host. I can't see Qatar Hosting it after the issues with the 2022 Fifa World Cup Bidding and I can't see Istanbul getting it for a long time. Maybe, Dubai should Bid for an Asian Games First and maybe a Summer Youth Olympics. Dubai certainly has the Money and Space to Host a Summer Olympics in the future for sure. Maybe, a Dubai Olympics might be the next Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Asia after Tokyo 2020, maybe 2032 or 2036, if New York City and Toronto don't Bid, plus the ones I mentioned before?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way things are going in the region, I doubt the IOC would be willing to risk giving it anywhere near there soon.

Istanbul probably had a big chance for 2020, but Erdogan's actions in the run-up certainly didn't help, and their window may be closing for a while.

Dubai is made from the same mould as Doha - and faces the same climate problems.

Apart from the petrocracies, there is a whole region torn apart by war, terror and political schemes of all sorts, hosting Olympics just cannot be on the agenda for them for years, if not decades to come.

Oh, I obviously forgot Baku, but this one likes to style itself much more European than Middle East.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I figure that Baku would try to style themselves as both European and Middle Eastern in the same way that Turkey might. There is a benefit in styling a bid as being part of a new frontier.

Also the chances of any of the Arab Gulf states hosting the Olympics is pretty much 0% at this point thanks to the World Cup debacle in Qatar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the summer window (July/August) pretty much set in stone (there is no way the IOC will get 26-28 sports federations to agree to a January/February Games) the real 'Arab area' Middle East is pretty much ****-outta luck.

Combine that with regional instability and the only realistic option "today" for the Middle East would be maybe Morocco (which would satisfy the Islamic part if not the geographical part of what the 'Middle east' refers to). With major political regime changes possibly Tehran which is in the climate sweet spot. Both are extreme longshots at best in the near future.

The IOC has repeatedly said no to Istanbul, Doha and at a stretch (geopolitically) Baku. The IOC said no to Cairo during the 2008 bid cycle.

Dubai has dropped out of staging a few world championships and their only real sporting legacy is the annual Grand Prix (which is in Abu Dhabi anyway), regional cricket and the Rugby 7's. Big new venues are not enough to entice the IOC. Istanbul could probably step in for Rio at this point venue wise after their recent building sprees but this still was not enough for 2020. Doha has huge swaths of underused modern stadia (and will have... oh.... 8 more in afew years). Istanbul and Doha basically offered blank cheques and unlimited political power to the IOC and that was not enough.

Surrender the fantasies. I'd like to see a Middle east Games - but only when the Middle East can do a proper job of them.

Edited by thatsnotmypuppy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the summer window (July/August) pretty much set in stone (there is no way the IOC will get 26-28 sports federations to agree to a January/February Games) the real 'Arab area' Middle East is pretty much ****-outta luck.

Combine that with regional instability and the only realistic option "today" for the Middle East would be maybe Morocco (which would satisfy the Islamic part if not the geographical part of what the 'Middle east' refers to). With major political regime changes possibly Tehran which is in the climate sweet spot. Both are extreme longshots at best in the near future.

The IOC has repeatedly said no to Istanbul, Doha and at a stretch (geopolitically) Baku. The IOC said no to Cairo during the 2008 bid cycle.

Dubai has dropped out of staging a few world championships and their only real sporting legacy is the annual Grand Prix (which is in Abu Dhabi anyway), regional cricket and the Rugby 7's. Big new venues are not enough to entice the IOC. Istanbul could probably step in for Rio at this point venue wise after their recent building sprees but this still was not enough for 2020. Doha has huge swaths of underused modern stadia (and will have... oh.... 8 more in afew years). Istanbul and Doha basically offered blank cheques and unlimited political power to the IOC and that was not enough.

Surrender the fantasies. I'd like to see a Middle east Games - but only when the Middle East can do a proper job of them.

I totally agree, although a Dubai Summer Olympics would be interesting.

Baku offers more than some make out it does. It's investing lots of Money into Sporting Infrastructure, with the Baku Olympic Stadium finishing Construction in a few Months, Gymnastics Arena and Baku Crystal Hall is completed, aswell as the Athletes Village for the 2015 European Games. They have an Aquatics Centre Under Construction and have a bright future. Of course, with Cities like Rome, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles and Durban all interested, Cities like Dubai and Baku won't stand a chance. I don't know why, but a Dubai Olympics would interest Me, but a Doha Summer Olympics wouldn't. Maybe it's because of Qatar's issues surrounding the 2022 Fifa World Cup that's put me off. An Istanbul Summer Olympics doesn't seem to interest Me either. Baku is Eastern European as far as I'm concerned. They participate in the UEFA Section in Football and the European Games in Multi Sports. The IOC definitley made the right decision in not choosing Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. I was supporting the Tokyo Bid. So Qatar, the IOC won't be making the same mistake Fifa made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The last time the IOC looked at the ME region in a moderately serious way was Teheran for 1984. Back then Dubai was a fishing village. I think the IOC will sit back and watch how this corner of the region gets on with FIFA's bold dream in 8 years time. No reason why the youth version can't visit the region though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Middle East ready to host Olympics, says OCA chief

INCHEON South Korea (Reuters) - Doha and Dubai are capable of hosting the Middle East's first Olympic Games and the region would simply have to trust itself to deliver a great event in the face of doubt and criticism, the president of the Olympic Council of Asia has told Reuters.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who also heads the powerful Association of National Olympic Committees, told Reuters a successful bid would be well received in a region where sport is helping bring about change.

However, he recognised it would also bring a firestorm of protest from other parts of the world in the same way FIFA's decision to award Qatar hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup provoked an outpouring of controversy and criticism.

"I think even if we host a birthday party there would be such a reaction," Sheikh Ahmad told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "That is the tradition of the media.

"For that we have to respect their thoughts but we have to trust ourselves that we can deliver a great event."

Qatari capital Doha bid for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but never made the shortlist, while Dubai was reportedly on the verge of a bid for 2016, eventually awarded to Rio de Janeiro, but it failed to materialize.

While major events were once the domain of Europe and North America, Asia is now viewed as a 'safe pair of hands' when it comes to hosting the world's biggest sporting competitions.

The IOC delivered an unequivocal endorsement of Asia's dynamic economies and its place in the future of the sporting world by awarding the 2018 winter Games to South Korea's Pyeongchang and the 2020 summer Olympics to Tokyo.

The continent will also host the rugby World Cup (Japan) and World Swimming Championships (South Korea) in 2019, the end-of-season Women's Tennis Association championships (Singapore), as well as a handful of Formula One races each year.

"We are capable in many cities in the Middle East to host an Olympics - Dubai is ready, Doha is ready," said Sheikh Ahmad.

"I know that not every city can host the Olympics. Only the main ones, and even they are always faced with difficulties. We can see this with Rio, even until now there are problems."

HOSTING PROBLEMS

The OCA recently found itself embroiled in its own hosting controversy when Vietnam pulled out of staging the Asian Games in 2019.

Hanoi had been awarded the Games, second only in size to the summer Olympics, in November 2012 but Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pulled the plug earlier this year, saying Vietnam was suffering from the effects of global recession and the state was unable to foot the bill for facilities and venues.

Economists estimated the cost of Vietnam hosting the Games varied from $150 million to as high as $500 million and while Vietnam's $155 billion economy is in recovery, it faces deep-rooted problems including weak infrastructure, high levels of bad debt and a state sector mired in graft and inefficiency.

With some 10,000 athletes competing in 36 sports watched by 12,000 members of the media, staging the Asian Games is a massive undertaking and has the potential to leave a serious dent in a host's finances.

By some estimates, China's Guangzhou was left with debts of $32 billion after its lavish Games in 2010.

Sheikh Ahmad, who is in South Korea for the Asian Games in Incheon, west of Seoul, said the OCA was trying to keep costs under control without compromising on the quality of the event.

"We are trying to follow the strategy of the Olympic movement - how can we keep the Asian Games going without increasing the budget, how do we become more flexible?

"We don't want to lose what we have built, we want to make our Games grow as rapidly as they did over the last 20 years.

"For that, we are keeping our fingers crossed."

The 17th Asian Games officially open on Friday and run until Oct. 4.

http://whtc.com/news/articles/2014/sep/18/middle-east-ready-to-host-olympics-says-oca-chief/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Summer Games will be going to South East Asia before they go to the Middle East. If Bangkok Thailand can come through the problems by next year then I could see them as strong cities to host the 2032 Summer Games and for the Middle East I could see Tel Aviv Israel hosting the 1st Middle East Summer Games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Summer Games will be going to South East Asia before they go to the Middle East. If Bangkok Thailand can come through the problems by next year then I could see them as strong cities to host the 2032 Summer Games and for the Middle East I could see Tel Aviv Israel hosting the 1st Middle East Summer Games.

Oh...bad news for Lima Peru 2032 then!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Summer Games will be going to South East Asia before they go to the Middle East. If Bangkok Thailand can come through the problems by next year then I could see them as strong cities to host the 2032 Summer Games and for the Middle East I could see Tel Aviv Israel hosting the 1st Middle East Summer Games.

If you can see Tel Aviv hosting an Olympics, you are hallucinating. Badly. No shot of that whatsoever until there is a major beyond major shift in world politics. Not happening. Why any of us have to tell you this is depressing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

IOC dismisses idea of joint Saudi-Bahrain bid for Olympics

By STEPHEN WILSON (AP Sports Writer) AP - Sports

LONDON (AP) -- The IOC has dismissed a suggestion by a Saudi Arabian official that the ultraconservative nation could seek to co-host the Olympics with neighboring Bahrain and hold men's and women's events in separate countries.

Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Al Saud, an international relations consultant to the president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, told a French Olympic website that resolutions passed by the IOC last month open the door for a potential joint bid with men's events on Saudi territory and women's competitions in Bahrain.

But IOC President Thomas Bach says in a statement to The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia would be ineligible to bid unless it complies with rules on non-discrimination against women in sports.

Bach says ''a commitment to 'non-discrimination' will be mandatory for all countries hoping to bid for the Olympics in the future.''

AP

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ioc-dismisses-idea-joint-saudi-bahrain-bid-olympics-155443959--oly.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's safe to say that no Middle Eastern country will (for the foreseeable future, anyway) host an Olympic Games anytime soon. Atrocious temperatures, political instability, a (and that's putting it diplomatically) rather troubled relationship to human rights across the region (including the treatment of guest workers), a penchant to use sharia law, ban alcohol and the insufficient separation of state and religion, as well as (quite frankly) the lack of a real consumer market are all things that will make the IOC run for the hills. Add to that the farce that is FIFA's masterpiece, Qatar 2022...

Finally, it's the turn of others to host...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, the middle east won't be hosting anytime soon. Istanbul won't host either. Dubai might in the future, not anytime soon though.

Too much political problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...