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Chairman's Blog

6.05.2008

A gathering in this year’s Olympic Host City

As the June deadline for the first phase of the 2016 decision process approaches, the pace of work within the Doha Bid Committee has been heating up. Earlier this month I was delighted to be a guest at the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Beijing. This was an opportunity for the Doha team to meet the largest gathering of the Olympic family on the eve of the 2008 Games.

The Doha Bid Committee were honoured to accompany His Highness The Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to many of the crucial meetings of this week-long event. He was in Beijing in his role as President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and was able to lend his support to Doha 2016 by sharing details of our Bid preparations with fellow IOC and NOC members.

The wholehearted commitment of His Highness and other members of the Royal Family are the driving force behind our long term goal of establishing Doha as a world class sporting destination.

It was certainly an exciting atmosphere during our week in Beijing and, as a lifelong sports fan, it was fascinating to meet many of the former Olympic Champions who I remember breaking records in the past and who are now playing a leading role advancing the ideals of the Olympic movement. People like Sebastian Coe, who leads the LOCOG team, and Kip Keno, who is playing a key role encouraging young Kenyan runners to compete at the highest level. The gym in the hotel was unusually busy every morning as some of the world’s finest athletes kept up their fitness levels ahead of meetings.

I was particularly impressed by the generosity of spirit displayed by the NOC delegates. I came to Beijing to listen and learn and there was no shortage of good advice about how to run an excellent Olympic Games. Their reaction to the plans that Doha has for the 2016 Games was universally positive and made me confident that we are on the right track.

One of the most exciting parts of the trip was to see the final stages of preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games. As someone with many years of experience in the construction industry, I know the challenges that major building and infrastructure projects present. I was therefore very impressed by the facilities that have been built, especially the famous ‘Birds Nest’ stadium which is a triumph of engineering and design. It is even more impressive than in the photographs.

Qatari athletes also had the opportunity to try out some of the Olympic facilities. Several of our international stars took part in a ‘dry run’ of the shooting events – a sport where we have some of the best in Asia and the Middle East. I was very proud to see how well they did against some of finest marksmen in the world.