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Venues

A strong venue plan aligned with IOC guiding principles

Doha 2016 has used several key factors in selecting venues, including in order of importance:

• Provide world-class competition conditions for the athletes;
• Use existing venues to their highest potential whenever possible;
• Create new venues only when they have sustainable, long-term legacy use and can be developed to world-class standards using environmentally sustainable materials and systems;
• Create temporary venues where no legacy use is sustainable;
• Provide proximity to the Olympic Village; and
• Use clusters to create a dynamic, exciting environment and to maximise operational efficiencies.

Doha 2016 has focused on the use of its already existing, world-class venues, so that the athletes will compete in the very best facilities.

More than 70% of the proposed venues already exist and have served as sites for major international competitions, particularly for the Doha 2006 Asian Games. The Khalifa Stadium and the Aspire Dome recently received silver medals from the IOC at the 20th International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) Congress.

Doha 2016 also proposes to use four planned venues for the Games, all of which are part of the Qatar Olympic Committee’s Master Plan for Venue Development. In line with its mission, “to become a leading nation at bringing the world together through sport”, the QOC plans to create a new swimming centre at Al-Gharaffa Club, a new slalom facility for canoe/kayak at Aspire, and the new Qatar Dome at the Qatar Club.

Each of these facilities will meet the long-term needs of the community and further advance sport in Doha. A new multi-purpose Sports Complex is being built at the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs and will be used as the boxing venue for the Games.

The new slalom facility will be the focal point for an “extreme” sports complex and water park being created as part of the Aspire Sports City. The new international swimming centre will be an adaptable structure that normally seats 4,000 spectators but is designed to be easily modified with additional temporary seating for the Games and then down-sized again in legacy mode.

The Qatar Dome will be the first indoor international football facility in the Middle East. It will create year-round opportunities for major matches, while at the same time providing much needed exhibition space and community space, integrated into the city centre.

Each of the new venues has a significant long-term use and will create opportunities for the people of Doha, the region and the sporting world. Doha 2016 is also conducting design competitions for use of sustainable materials and environmentally-sound energy solutions and also water conservation solutions in all new construction of competition and non-competition venues.

In all, six venues will be temporary, including the cycling venues and the beach volleyball venue. In each case, the venue is developed around world-class competition facilities. Doha 2016 also proposes temporary adaptations for many of the permanent facilities to increase spectator capacity for the Games while the permanent venues are sized appropriately for legacy use.

The Doha 2016 plan is very compact. All of the venues are in close proximity to the Olympic Village. In fact, 85% of athletes will compete within a 7.5 km radius from the Village. An additional 7% are within a 10 km radius.

Doha 2016 also took care in its planning to ensure that all venues were positioned along major transport corridors.