Disclosing details for the first time of the 190-page applicant file submitted earlier this month to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Doha officials shrugged off the heat problem – just as Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup campaign had done – and pledged to put on an event that would "change the lifestyles" of an entire region.

Doha's bid for the 2016 Games ended in controversy when they failed to make the shortlist because the IOC would not allow them to host the Games later than August.

But their initial bid was ranked technically higher than that of Rio de Janeiro, the ultimate winners.


"Change is in the air," said Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani (pictured above second right), General Secretary of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Doha 2020 vice-chairman.

"This is a bid which offers a great opportunity not only for Qatar and the Middle East, but the entire Olympic Movement.

"Our bid is all about legacy."

In a typically slick red-carpet presentation at the futuristic Torch Hotel close to the famed Aspire Sports Academy, Qatari officials issued a string of fresh details about Doha's 2020 bid which they hope will swing the balance among IOC members.

No additional permanent venues will need to be built, with 91 per cent of sites either existing already, planned or budgeted for as part of Qatar's so-called 2030 vision.

Importantly, that means hardly any Games-related spending will be needed; a far cry, for instance, from London 2012 and previous Olympics and also that of Baku, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo, its rivals for 2020.

Another key factor in Doha's bid is that average travel time for athletes to all competition venues will be 21 minutes, an impressively short time both for able-bodied athletes and for the Paralympians, which would take place from November 4 to 15 if Doha is given the nod.

Doha's horrendous traffic problems would be eased by a new $21 billion (£13 billion/€16 billion) metro system which will link to 78 per cent of all sports venues while 50,000 hotel rooms and apartments will be within 15 kilometres of the majority of sports.


On the always thorny question of pricing, officials disclosed that three million tickets would cost less than $25 (£16/€19) each, a remarkable coup if Doha pulls it off.

Legacy would include the region's first ever women's High Performance Training Centre "to welcome women and girls from across the Arab world", plus the only Olympic-standard Velodrome in the Middle East.

"We want to inspire change and create sporting and commercial opportunities for the Olympic movement, and build bridges between the region and the international community," said Fahad Juma, deputy chief executive, technical bid and project management, who led the process to compile Doha's Applicant File.  

"That would be the greatest legacy of all."

While controversy still rages over the 2022 FIFA World Cup being staged in the height of the Gulf summer, Sheikh Saoud (pictured below) told a news conference that an October Olympics would not generate the same level of debate when the IOC Executive Board meets to discuss Doha's Application File at its meeting in Quebec City on May 23.


"We have contacted the 28 Summer Olympic international federations and we already have approval from most of them [for October]," he said.

"We moved it from July-August to October to make sure the temperature would be similar to that in the other bidding cities – and cities who have hosted before."

To see the full contents of the Doha 2020 Application File click here (49.84 MB).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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