Dubai's Olympic Bid

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, recently announced his intentions to begin studying an Olympic bid. The leader, who recently visited China, expressed his initiative during a conference to journalists on a flight from Beijing to Shanghai.

The Olympic bid will be welcomed by avid investors who have already purchased property in Dubai’s Sports City, which is to become the largest sports complex in the UAE and probably the world once it is completed. The custom-built complex, which will feature a 25,000-seater cricket stadium, a 60,000-seater outdoor arena that could hold track and field events, and a 10,000-seater multi-purpose indoor arena, is most likely to hold a key role in UAE’s Olympic bid.

Currently, Dubai hosts many major sporting events, including the Dubai World Championship, a golfing event with a grand prize of US$10 Million. Likewise, this year the Emirate enjoyed the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship, where American Andy Roddick captured his 25th career ATP singles title and second trophy in three weeks, with a victory over unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. The biannual cricket internationals are also held in Dubai as well as major sporting conferences such as the 3rd Dubai International Sports Conference to be held this year, May 31 - June 1, 2008.  The UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, will also host its first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix next year.

Award-winning property portal, propertyshowrooms.com, registered record investor interest in Dubai in January 2008, quadrupling traffic figures in comparison with the 2007 average. Sara Romera, analyst at propertyshowrooms.com, explains: “In the last four weeks we have seen a huge increase in unique visitors to our Dubai pages. This falls in line with the success of Dubai products in our International Property Investment Network, where Bermuda Views, a development in Dubai Sports City, is performing outstandingly well.”

Regarding the Olympic bid, Sheikh Mohammed refused to give any further details or pinpoint a target year.

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