São Paulo – This Friday (16th), the secretary general of the Qatari Olympic Committee, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the country will once again attempt to host the 2024 Olympic Games. During the Aspire4Sport conference, he stated that with each bid the country loses, it “gets stronger” for the next one. Last June, as the country lost its current bid, he had said he would not rest until Doha hosts the Olympics.
“We will continue on that path and we will continue to bid,” said Al Thani. “Every time we bid, we are listening and learning to see how we can make our bid stronger,” he said. According to him, the country’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics was better than the one made for the 2016 edition, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro. The city was chosen over Doha, Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago.
Qatar’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games was ruled out in June this year, prior to the final phase. The host city has not been selected yet, and the contenders are Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid. The winner will be announced in Argentina in 2013.
The hosting of sports events and investment in education are a part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 project, which provides for improvements in teaching, healthcare and living conditions. The country will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and already stages various international sports events, such as the world short-course pool swimming championship and the world handball championship.
During the Aspire4Sport conference this Friday, Al Thani also said the Qatari Olympic Committee has audited the country’s sports facilities over the last two years and concluded that it has 62 venues ready for use, and needs another 11. According to him, the survey was conducted to prevent the construction of sports complexes that will later be rendered useless.
For the World Cup, for instance, not all of the 12 host stadiums will be built. Some are already undergoing refurbishment. Others will be built using technology to enable their disassembly once the contest is over. Qatar has announced that some of these stadiums will be donated to poor African countries such as Sudan.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
