02.12.2008
DOHA, 29 September 2007 – His Highness the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tameem Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani will formally launch Doha’s Bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 at a celebratory event on the Corniche in Doha on 25th October, it was announced today.
At a press conference at the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs, the Chairman of the Doha 2016 Bid Committee, Mr Hassan Ali Bin Ali, said that at the launch event, Sheikh Tameem would reveal the Bid’s logo and tagline, as well as launching the full Doha 2016 website.
Mr Hassan said: “I am delighted the IOC have now approved our Bid logo. We are extremely proud of this design which was created by local students of the Virginia Commonwealth University of Qatar (VCUQ). We therefore decided that we wanted to unveil the logo in the most memorable way possible as an integral part of the celebrations on the Corniche.”
Mr Hassan also announced the start of an advertising campaign to be launched in the coming days. He said: “It is a key criteria for the International Olympic Committee that our Bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 has the total support of everyone in Qatar – not only native Qataris but everyone who lives and works here. We know that everyone in Qatar is already fully behind this Bid. We intend that this campaign will generate even more excitement and anticipation.”
Mr Hassan added: “Bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Doha in 2016 would bring the Olympic flame to the Arabic-speaking world for the very first time, and in doing so extend the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds.”
“In the coming months, as we reveal more about our plan, you will see that we aim to do things that have never before been done by an Olympic Host City, offering opportunities to the youth and underprivileged, both in Qatar and around the world, to change their lives forever.”
With the Doha 2016 Bid’s focus on the world’s youth, in the weeks leading up to the launch event, Mr Hassan said he would be embarking on a tour of schools and colleges in Qatar.
He said: “Our vision for the Games is focused on the shared future of the world’s youth, particularly those disadvantaged either economically, or through disability. Our Bid aims to engage and inspire Arab youth to better understand the wider world and the youth of the rest of the world to gain a true picture of Arab culture and hospitality.”
Mr Hassan, who is also Chairman of the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs, said it was no coincidence the press conference was being held at the center. “In addition to organising a first class Olympic Games, I am very deeply committed to providing the very finest Paralympic Games that the Olympic Movement will ever have seen. Already we are pressing ahead regardless with plans to build the world’s most advanced Paralympic stadium, which will serve disabled sportsmen and women for generations to come.”
The host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be selected by the International Olympic Committee at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009.
ENDS