Olympics: With World Cup going well, Qatar determined to host 2036 Games
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The Olympic Cauldron and the Olympic flame during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
PHOTO: AFP
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DOHA – Qatar is determined to bring the 2036 Summer Olympic Games to Doha, according to a source familiar with the Olympic bidding process.
The success so far of the ongoing World Cup
No timeframe has been announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on when it plans to award the 2036 sports extravaganza.
Were the Games to go to Doha, it would be the first to be staged in a Muslim country.
Qatar failed to make the cut for the shortlist for both the 2016 and 2020 Games, partly due to concerns over the summer temperatures in the desert state, with those Games ending up in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo respectively.
It is expected Qatar would push to move any Olympics later in the year, like it has done with the World Cup, and the Gulf state has made use of advanced air-conditioning systems in stadiums to mitigate the heat for the football.
Saud Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, the engineer known as “Dr Cool” who was responsible for the technology in the stadiums, said that an air-conditioned marathon course could be built. “It is feasible and possible. Engineering-wise anything is possible,” he told AFP on the sidelines of a press conference Monday.
“You don’t need a street. Maybe there could be cooling stations and things like this. We have proven to the world that technologically we have the capability.”
Doha staged the World Athletics Championships in 2019 at the Khalifa International Stadium, from late September to early October.
The IOC has revamped the process for awarding the Games since then, changing from a traditional bidding process to selecting a preferred candidate from interested cities.
Brisbane 2032 were the first Games to be awarded using this method.
With the Games going to Paris in 2024,
Countries who have expressed an interest in staging the 2036 Games include India, Indonesia and South Korea. Germany is also considering whether to launch another Olympic bid despite strong domestic opposition to the Olympics.
The success so far of the ongoing Fifa World Cup has emboldened the Qataris and strengthened their resolve to host the Olympics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Qatar will feel in a very strong position, one source told Reuters.
“The success so far of this World Cup puts Qatar in a strong position – they have shown they can do this… it is a proof of concept.
“They hosted the Asian Games in 2006; and will be hosting them again in 2030. All of the infrastructure is here – the stadiums, the metro, the new airport.”
The Qatar Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qatar built seven of the eight World Cup stadiums from scratch,
Energy-rich Qatar, in an attempt to emulate the dramatic transformation of Gulf rivals Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has spent at least US$229 billion (S$309 billion) on infrastructure in the 12 years since winning the bid to host the World Cup, and now boasts a gleaming new subway system as well as state-of-the-art sports facilities. AFP, REUTERS
