Doha's Bid for Olympic Games

Doha's bid for the 2016 Olympic and Para-Olympic Games got under way earlier this month with this official website, although the full website will not be launched until next month.

The website points out that a successful bid would mean that the Olympic Games went to an Arabic Country for the first time, and also that Qatar is in the centre of many flight paths.

Qatar proved that it could successfully manage big events with their handling of the Qatar Asian Olympic Games. The Asian Olympic Games also left the country with greatly improved sports facilities, not to mention the experience of holding large events. It also seems a good idea to hold the games in a country which can actually afford them - and tax free Qatar, with its huge reserves of Natural Gas, can certainly do that.

Essentially, though, there are three problems which Qatar needs to deal with. One is transport. There is currently limited public transport, and during the Asian Games visitors were often stranded, unable to get a taxi. Residents will remember the terrible traffic problems that existed prior to the Asian Games as well, with massive but last minute renovation of Qatar's roads.

To deal with traffic congestion, Qatar is continuing to expand its road system. However, if Qatar follows the example of other countries this will just lead to more cars on the roads. On the other hand, it would be brilliant if the Olympic Games pushed Qatar to develop a decent public transport system.

A further problem is accommodation. During the Asian Games, despite three cruise ships hauled in to provide extra accommodation, people were renting floors to sleep on, never mind beds. Qatar is currently experiencing a boom in hotel building, but it seems unlikely that this would be sufficient for the Olympic Games.

However, the biggest problem that I could see would be the timing. The Olympic Games are held in August, at a time when temperatures can hit 50 degrees Celsius. To hold the games, the month would surely have to be changed, although I believe their is some leeway for this in the IOC rules.

Still, we at Qatar Visitor wish Qatar Olympic Committee the best of luck. If you wish to support the Olympic bid too, you can visit the official website and register your details here.

Also see:

Beijing Visitor, our sister site which provides tourist and travel information for Beijing and the Olympic Games.

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Qatar Doha Middle East Olympic Games