Bidding for the Games -- Doha 2020; Pyeongchang 2018; Quebec

Quiet Approach to 2020 Olympics for Qatar

Plans for a bid from Qatar for the 2020 Olympics are proceeding even though the primary goal for now is to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the secretary general of the Qatar Olympic Committee tells Around The Rings.

Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani confirmed that Doha will be in the race for 2020, it’s second try after failing to make the shortlist for 2016.

The sheikh says the strategy is to keep things quiet while the battle to host World Cups in 2018 and 2022 is underway. That decision by FIFA is set for December 2010.

Al-Thani says he takes comfort from the decision to award Brazil the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

“I think that when the IOC chose Rio it opened a new gate. The area that is still missing an Olympics is the Middle East. Hopefully we can change that in 2020, but first we must focus on 2022,” explained Al-Thani.

“2020 will be on our agenda. Rio has the World Cup (2014) and two years later will have the Olympics. Maybe we will do the same, but the other way round.”

Doha lost out for 2016 due large part to stage the Games in October, rather than the traditional July/August dates sought by the IOC.

Al-Thani revealed that this time Qatar will accept the northern hemisphere mid-summer timing, arguing that technology and the changing world climate will come to the rescue.

“Ten years from now the weather will be different – we are already seeing the change. We can play at night in climate controlled stadia. At a recent event in our stadium a temperature no higher than 28 degrees centigrade was recorded,” claimed Al-Thani.

Qatar has recently staged world-class events in tennis, table tennis, weight-lifting and football, and will showcase its national stadium to the world on Saturday when football giants England and Brazil battle in a World Cup prep match.

Al-Thani confirmed that part of his government’s strategy is to bring more and more of these global events Doha.

“To bring a big event to the Middle East is very important. Impossible does not exist in our dictionary. Any event that will help our strategy to bring a major event to our country we will bid for,” he said.

Doha is not the only Arab Gulf city looking at the 2020 Olympics. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is looking at the bid as well.

PyeongChang Expert Group Meets

An “Expert Group” for the PyeongChang 2018 bid met on Tuesday. The group met to prepare the necessary bid documents for the city’s third straight Olympic bid.

Pyeongchang will complete its bid documents by December.

Kim Jin-sun, a co-chairman of the bid committee said in a speech: “The expertise of specialists has already been recognized in 2010 and 2014. They will try to make the best possible bid-file because they have in-depth knowledge and know-how in their fields”

Quebec Hopes Third Bid is the Charm

Quebec City hopes its third Olympic bid will win the Games.

To achieve that end, the government of Quebec launched an exploratory committee to determine the viability of a bid for the 2022 or 2026 Winter Olympics.

"There is no city in the world better situated for the Winter Olympics" Quebec Premier Jean Charest said yesterday.

Funding for the committee comes from the leftover money from last year’s 400th anniversary celebrations. The monies will fund the committee for three years.

Claude Rousseau, president of a junior hockey team, will head of the committee. No other members were named.

Under the current IOC timetable, a host for 2022 and 2016 will come in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

The city bid for the 2002 and 2010 Games.

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Written by Ed Hula III and Adrian Hill.