Will Dubai bring the Olympics here?

Will Dubai bring the Olympics here?

The city has formed a committee with several high-profile members to discuss Dubai’s chances of hosting the Olympics in 2020.

November 3, 2009 1:09 by Aarti Nagraj

“The IOC decided to give South America its first Olympics, so the only continent now without an Olympics is the African continent, and therefore I think it’s something that the IOC certainly will have to begin to think about,” Danny Jordaan, CEO of the South Africa 2010 organizing committee told The Associated Press last month.
Another challenge will be coping with Dubai’s severe summer weather. In fact, the weather is widely believed to be one of the reasons why Doha lost its bid for the Olympics in 2016. But Doha’s infrastructure has also been blamed for its failure, and Dubai can probably hold up better in that area.
The city recently opened a new Metro system, and in a few years it will have a huge new airport. According to a report released last month by travel research company, STR Global, the UAE is currently building 57,126 hotel rooms, almost half of the total number of rooms being constructed in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region.
Apart from infrastructure, the city also has more entertainment to offer than Doha; shopping, nightlife, and cultural events are already tailored for tourists.
Bidding for the Olympics is a tough competition, and Dubai will be judged not just for its capacities, but its advantages over other cities, and how the others’ fare will be crucial to its possibility of winning.

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Tags: 2020, bid, challenges, committee, Doha, Dubai, olympics