Relatively discreet regarding the preparation of its Olympic and Paralympic candidacy, Qatar is nonetheless determined with – after the failures of its candidacies for 2016 and 2020 and the disappointment of 2032 – the deadline of 2036 in its sights.
View of the Corniche in Doha, Qatar, in November 2016 (Credits – Sport & Society)
The regular organization of major international sporting events is a reminder of the extent to which Qatar has, in recent years, been able to invest massively and position itself to become one of the major centers of attraction for sport.
Also, after the 2022 Football World Cup which hit the headlines so much before being considered a success in terms of the effective holding of the event for a global audience, Qatar is now turning again in the direction of ‘an old dream which is none other than the hoped-for obtaining of the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As also pointed out the qatari daily “Al-Watan” over the past weekend :
The Qatar Olympic Committee is preparing a file to host the 2036 Games by submitting it to the International Olympic Committee. The decision to prepare this file was initiated with the participation of various relevant state agencies.
[…] This decision follows the great success achieved by Qatar in hosting numerous international tournaments and meetings, including the Football World Cup, the World Athletics Championships, the World Swimming Championships, the World Handball, the Asian Football Cup and other important events, in addition to preparing for the upcoming organization of the 2030 Asian Games.
Eager not to let its Olympic and Paralympic ambition slip by at a time when other regional powers are returning or asserting themselves on the front of the stage – Turkey and Saudi Arabia – Qatar intends to succeed in convincing the IOC of the relevance of a project which, in view of past projections and weather conditions, will obviously be positioned for the autumn period.
For its candidacy for the 2016 Olympics, the country proposed holding the Olympic event from October 14 to 30, then hosting the Paralympic event from November 12 to 23. A few years later, Qatar put forward the idea of organizing the Games from October 2 to 18, 2020 for the Olympic component and from November 4 to 15 for the Paralympic counterpart.
In both cases, however, the IOC had rejected the Qatari candidacy at the request stage.
On a purely technical level, the IOC Working Group Report for the 2016 Olympic Games ranked the candidacy in fourth position, with an average of 6.9, compared to 8.3 for Tokyo (Japan), 8.1 for Madrid ( Spain), and 7 for Chicago (Illinois, United States). This positioning, however, did not allow Doha to be selected among the Candidate Cities, the IOC Executive Commission eliminating at the time, in addition to the Qatari candidacy, those of Prague (Czech Republic) and Baku (Azerbaijan), but on the other hand retaining that of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) although less well rated (6.4).
For the 2020 edition, Doha was eliminated again at the same stage of the selection process, the IOC placing its trust in Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul (Turkey) to continue the Olympic adventure, pointing out, on the one hand, the proximity to the Football World Cup project and, on the other hand, the choice of calendar which could have a negative impact on the broadcast or the spectator experience, not to mention also questions about the protection of the health of athletes , the public and the staff responsible for supporting the preparations.
Finally, regarding the 2032 deadline, Qatar – like others – had seen its ambition thwarted by the domination of Australia which had quickly entered into targeted dialogue with the IOC, in accordance with the new procedure surrounding the development of candidatures for the Games.
(Credits – Doha 2020 / Archives)
Today, the experience acquired by Qatar in organizing major sporting events could allow it to compete more with international competition which currently includes South Korea, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, and possibly Hungary, Germany, even Poland or Spain.
The investment made in recent years in infrastructure – coupled with said sporting experience – constitutes another key point which could, if necessary, weigh in the balance and ensure Doha and Qatar obtaining a next edition of the Games. Provided of course that the IOC is open to this idea.
