02.12.2008
Statement by Mr Hassan Ali Bin Ali
The International Olympic Committee officially accepted Doha as an Applicant City to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you to this press conference.
As you know, last week the International Olympic Committee officially accepted Doha as an Applicant City to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Today, I am delighted to be able to announce that His Highness 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 on 25th October in Doha next month.
At the launch ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Tameem will unveil the new logo of the Bid as well as the Bid’s tagline.
Speaking of the logo, I am delighted to be able to say that the IOC has now approved our new 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.
In addition, at the event His Highness will also launch the full ‘state-of-the-art’ Doha 2016 website, which is currently in construction as I speak.
My second announcement today is that we will in the coming days start an advertising campaign, which will run right up to this launch celebration event – and beyond.
We will be putting posters and banners to publicise the Doha 2016 Bid on buildings and billboards as well as running print and broadcast advertisements in all Qatari media.
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 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.
As I have said before, hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Doha in 2016 would bring the Olympic flame to the Arabic-speaking world for the first time, extending the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds. Never has the Olympic Family had an opportunity to make such a difference to the peoples of the world.
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.
Our vision for the Games will be 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.
With that in mind, my third announcement is that I will be embarking on a personal tour to visit schools and universities in Qatar to tell them about the wonderful opportunity that hosting the Olympic Games will bring for them and for this country.
Awarding Doha the 2016 Games would unleash the power of the Olympic Movement and sport to create understanding, hope and change that could unite the entire region with the rest of the world.
I should also say that, with Qatar’s sporting pedigree, the athletes and spectators in 2016 will experience the ultimate “Games of the future”.
In Doha, we already have a world class sporting infrastructure. Our stadiums are among the best in the world – two of them ranked in the top three in a global contest organised by the International Association for Sports Leisure Facilities and sponsored by the IOC.
Last year, as you know, we hosted the 2006 Asian Games, which is the world’s second largest multi-sport, multi-day event after the Olympic Games. We were widely acknowledged to have organised the best, the biggest, the most widely reported, and the highest standard Asian Games ever.
The Doha 2016 Bid is an extremely serious Bid. We are absolutely ready to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016. And we will build further on our 2016 Olympic success by leaving a legacy of a new state-of-the-art regional centre for elite – and youth – sport.
Finally, it is no coincidence that this press conference is being held at the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs. As many of you will know I am the Center’s Chairman and so, 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. Thank-you all for your attendance. I am very happy to take any questions…