Qatar pins bid for 2036 Olympics on its World Cup pedigree

• Host city to be chosen in 2029
• India and Turkey also bidding
• First Arab nation to host World Cup

Qatar is hoping its World Cup stadiums and infrastructure will give it an edge in its bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. But it will face stiff opposition from Europe, Asia and Africa.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed Qatar as an “interested party” in hosting the 2036 Games, alongside Germany, Hungary, India, South Korea, South Africa and Turkey.

The deadline for interested parties is at the end of this month. Saudi Arabia was also reportedly considering a bid for 2036, but observers now believe a 2040 campaign is more likely.

The 2036 host city will be chosen by IOC members in mid-2029.

“This is just the beginning of a long journey in which we hope to build on Qatar’s proven track record of hosting major international events,” said Fatima Al Kuwari, CEO of the Doha 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee.

Doha’s athletics infrastructure is centred on the 45,000-plus-seat Khalifa International Stadium, which hosted the 2019 World Athletics Championships, and Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, the traditional home of the Doha Diamond League, which has a capacity of 14,000.

Qatar also hosts sports including Formula 1, cycling, tennis and basketball.

In 2022 it became the first Arab and the first Middle Eastern country to host the Fifa World Cup. A successful Doha 2036 bid would achieve the same firsts for the Olympics.

The World Cup generated up to 1 percent of Qatar’s GDP in direct economic activity, according to the International Monetary Fund, but its bigger legacy was the decade-long infrastructure programme that transformed its transport, tourism and urban economy.

Qatar’s government estimates that the 2022 tournament brought in QAR8 billion ($2.2 billion) in direct financial returns and QAR9.9 billion in longer-term gains up to 2035.

Simon Chadwick, professor of AfroEurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School and an AGBI columnist, said Doha already had “much of the infrastructure needed for an Olympics through the World Cup” – but asked: “Does that make its bid genuinely more compelling, or does the IOC want a new market and a bigger economic opportunity in India?”

A report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found that the Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held in LA in 2028, could generate up to $40 billion in gross economic output. The events could also support more than 200,000 jobs across Greater Los Angeles, the corporation said.

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