ABSTRACT
Sport is a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. Countries and cities aggressively compete against each other for the rights to hold sport events including the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, America's Cup and other such events primarily for economic development purposes. In some cases, the brand and image of a destination becomes inextricably linked to sport, e. g., Augusta, Georgia (Master's Golf); Athens, Greece (Olympic Games); and Melbourne, Australia (Australian Open).
This chapter identifies key aspects of securing sport events, including: the bidding process; operations management and sport event impacts (environmental, economic, social-cultural, etc.). Event strategies employed by sport governing bodies, tourism ministries, relevant government agencies and so forth are also critically analysed and discussed. This chapter and the subsequent analysis offered by Hassan in this compendium, dealing with the process of managing sport events, complement each other perfectly and reflect the importance of these major gatherings for our understanding of the Middle East as a global sport event destination.
There have been a number of high profile sport events in the Middle East and North Africa over the past two decades including the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar; Bahrain F1 Grand Prix; Dubai Desert Golf Classic, and the Dubai World Cup (horseracing), but none bigger than the forthcoming 212022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Qatar in particular indicated that the country has focused on “three pillars in developing and diversifying its economy: education, health and sports — and within sports, the biggest areas of focus are football, golf, tennis, cycling, fencing and table tennis” (Doha's 2020 Vision, 2008). It's timely therefore to profile Qatar's hosting of the 2006 Asian Games as an appropriate departure point in the context of a chapter examining the successful hosting of major sports events, including across the Middle East region.
Case Study 1: Doha 2006 Asian Games
Having gained a favourable reputation over the years, Qatar is promoting itself as a popular venue for international sport events. The wide range of sport facilities and business opportunities that it offers makes it a lucrative destination for international sport federations and athletes in search of new markets. Given the government-funded project, ASPIRE, the Academy of Sport Excellence which aims to develop the most talented student athletes in the region (see Kilgallon's dedicated chapter in this collection profiling this institution) and the search for ‘national prestige’ in international competitions through the naturalisation of elite athletes, it is not surprising that the Qatari government undertook to bid for the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006, as part of a broader modernisation strategy. Qatar was the first Arab Middle Eastern Country to host these Games, which emerged as the biggest ever, with 45 countries, 40 sports and 411 events represented. The Doha Asian Games can be considered a ‘third-order mega-event’. The Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (DAGOC) was established by the Qatar National Olympic Committee to coordinate and organise the Games under the auspices of the Olympic Asian Council (OCA) who actually retain the rights of the Games. A significant investment of US$2.8 billion was established to underwrite the event. Five years of preparations included major investment in the development of appropriate sporting arenas (including 38 permanent and temporary sport venues) such as the impressive Khalifa Stadium; major road and building construction, and development throughout Doha to transport and accommodate the Games and its guests; branding and advertising campaigns, and a sustained publicity campaign. The Games Village included 814 flats for athletes, 48 flats for chefs de mission and 48 national Olympic offices. Following the Games, the village became part of the Ministry of Public Health buildings and the city's central medical complex. Some 10,000 athletes competed in the Games and 16,000 volunteers were targeted. A media contingent of 5,500 personnel covered the Games (3,000 press, 1,000 broadcasters and 1,500 host broadcaster staff). It is argued that the success of the 15th Asian Games not only put Doha on the world's sporting map but raised the profile of Qatar and the whole region (Amara, 2005 and RasGas Magazine, 2006/2007).
Saudi Arabia fires the ball past Kuwait during the Men's Team Tournament Preliminary Pool A match during the 15th Asian Games, Doha in 2006 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203131770/974c2e6d-93ef-47b6-8a98-a0fabfe5d884/content/ch2_page22-01_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: Getty Images