The idea of the two events being awarded together was initially dismissed by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) vice-president Bob Hersh, who has headed the Evaluation Commission, but has been gathering momentum steadily here as a way of ensuring both bids are successful.

London have already ruled out accepting an offer to host 2019 as they claim that the financial guarantees they have from the Government and London Mayor Boris Johnson do not stretch beyond 2017. 

Doha have also cast doubt over whether they would be prepared to accept that compromise.

"For us what has fallen with our strategy and vision is 2017 and that's the bid we are focussing on," Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the secretary general of the Qatar Olympic Committee, who is leading this bid. 

"It's only one year before the Olympics and the magnitude of such a big event would require a lot of preparation.

"We never received anything from the IAAF and for us the message from beginning is that we are concentrating only on 2017 and we are not interested in 2019."

Doha's bid has run into fresh controversy following claims from John Barrow, the lead principal at Populous, who are working on Qatar's bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, that the cooling technology that is the cornerstone of Doha's bid is unsustainable. 


Sheikh Saoud shrugs off the controversy and insists that the plans for the cooling technology at the Khalifa Stadium will be state-of-the-art.

"Climate hasn't been an issue at all," he said

"We think this is because the world of international sport has in recent years explored new areas of the world, for example in Asia, Africa and South America and also understood the need for greater flexibility in the traditional calendar to accomodate this growth.

"In addition in Qatar we have technology on our side.

"So, rather than the climate being a barrier, it actually becomes a new and exciting opportunity.

"Having a main stadium with a solar-powered temperature controlled system means that together we and the IAAF can decide what the optimal temperature is for each session.

"Research is now showing that an optimal temperature exists for peak performance in each athletics discipline.

"So potentially each session can be regulated to have an optimal temperature for top performance.

"This solution can also be taken to other places around the world that are blocked by climate to help the IAAF open up even more new regions.

"For events outside of the stadium we have also been creative.

"We are excited to be bringing back the evening marathon that was first introduced in 1960 in Rome but doing it for a new generation using new and exciting technologies and lighting solutions.

"It will be fantastic."

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