From the Asian Games, to the Olympics

The 15th Asian Games in Doha have not been blessed with the best of luck. The shine was taken off an original and spectacular opening ceremony by persistent heavy rain which, rather than prove to be an exception, has actually set the tone for an event plagued by inclement weather.

Unfortunate tragedy

Sadly, on December 7, a South Korean three day eventer Kim Hyung-Chil was thrown from his mount and killed when his horse rolled over on top of him. An inquiry has been launched into the first death in the Games' history, but the slippery conditions might well have contributed to the accident. This was an extra dark cloud that Qatar could certainly have done without.

Having to contend with the sort of weather you might expect in Europe in December, rather than the Arabian Gulf, can't have been on the organisers' minds prior to the start of the competition. But what might have concerned them may have been the thought of many of the 39 sports being played out in front of near deserted venues.

So it has proved. Qatar has a small population of around 800,000, largely made up of expatriate workers, so packed stadiums were always pretty unlikely. But there have been some notable exceptions, with top Indian tennis star Sania Mirza generating a healthy following of supporters.

Olympic obstacles

While empty spaces in cavernous stadiums are not uncommon at Olympic venues too, key events are usually packed to the rafters and the IOC will surely want to make sure this would be the case in Doha, if Qatar does choose to launch a bid for the 2016 Olympiad. But there is no question that the Asian Games bear little comparison to the Olympics as a major tourist draw.

While Doha 2006 has been dominated by poor weather, the usually hot arid conditions would mean that any Olympic Summer Games would have to be held very late in the year as the mercury often pushes 40 degrees Celsius in October, Qatar's preferred date for the event.

A further hurdle for Qatar's bid could be its poor transport infrastructure. Doha can often find itself gridlocked without the added influx of tens of thousands of Olympic competitors and spectators needing to play any part. But this is where Qatar can look at the long-term view with a great deal of confidence, as it is set to pump serious investment into its core infrastructure.

Investing in the future

In March, Qatar's Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani outlined ambitious plans to spend $130 billion over the next ten years, not only on exploiting its natural gas reserves, but also on public utilities, the airport, hotels, roads, sports facilities, hospitals and schools.

By 2016, the $5.5 billion New Doha International Airport is set to be fully operational and will be one of the most modern airports in the world, capable of handling 50 million passengers a year. Qatar Airways meanwhile will also have significantly upped its fleet numbers and routes, as it aims to fly to more than 100 destinations worldwide.

Again, long before the Olympic Games comes to town, Doha's two giant real estate projects, Lusail and The Pearl-Qatar, should have added about 60 more hotels to the city's total, according to Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrehman Al Thani, the Secretary General of the Qatar National Olympic Committee cited in The Peninsula.

Al Thani was equally confident about ironing out Doha's traffic problems and remarked that ten years is a long time to build more roads and even introduce other forms of transport. Qatar's desire to secure the Olympics seems unstinting and if successful, it could be that its 2012 predecessor London could end up casting envious glances at Qatar's newly crafted infrastructure.