Tokyo, September 22 (QNA) - Chief Executive Officer of Qatar's bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, affirmed that Doha has embarked on its bidding journey with great confidence and national ambitions that reflect Qatar's standing on the global sporting stage.

Her remarks came during a panel discussion held at Bayt Qatar in Nagoya with a number of representatives of local media outlets covering the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, currently taking place in Japan.

Al Kuwari said that Doha's bid to host the Olympic Games, the world's largest sporting event, was not merely an attempt to add another tournament to Qatar’s record of hosting major events, but rather reflected a comprehensive vision aimed at delivering a distinctive Olympic and Paralympic experience that would leave a sustainable legacy for the country, the region and the international Olympic movement.

She noted that Qatar's bid is built on a strong track record of successful event organization, advanced infrastructure, world-class sporting facilities and human expertise accumulated over many years of hosting major championships.

She also said that Qatar has succeeded over the past decades in establishing a prominent position in the sporting world, having hosted a wide range of continental and international championships across various sports and, on each occasion, delivering an advanced organizational model that earned praise from participants, international federations and fans.

Al Kuwari added that Doha's hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 represented an important historic milestone and demonstrated the country's ability to organize the largest and most complex sporting events, while welcoming millions of fans, athletes, media representatives and official delegations and providing them with an integrated experience both inside and outside the stadiums.

Al Kuwari stressed that Qatar's ambition to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games reflects the country's belief in the importance of sport and its role in building societies and strengthening connections between peoples. She affirmed that Doha does not view the Games merely as sporting competitions, but as a global event with wide-ranging humanitarian, cultural, social and economic dimensions.

She said that the Olympic Games represent the highest level of global sporting competition and bring together thousands of athletes from different countries and cultures. Hosting them would therefore provide a historic opportunity to present an authentic image of the State of Qatar and the Arab region and introduce the world to the values, culture and identity that distinguish the peoples of the region.

The Chief Executive Officer of Qatar's bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games affirmed that Qatar is approaching the bidding journey with complete seriousness and, at the same time, recognizes that the road ahead is long and requires considerable work, planning and coordination. She nevertheless expressed strong confidence in the country’s national capabilities and expertise and its ability to compete strongly.

Al Kuwari expressed confidence in Qatar's ability to deliver an exceptional experience, noting that the goal is to raise the country’s profile and present a bid befitting the standing achieved by Qatari sport while reflecting the scale of development the country has witnessed across various fields.

Al Kuwari said that Qatar's successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 represents one of the key pillars underpinning its bid, as the tournament demonstrated the country's ability to manage major events and provide the highest organizational, security, operational and service standards. She stressed that the World Cup was not merely a successful sporting tournament, but also delivered an integrated fan and human experience and left positive impressions on millions of visitors who gained first-hand experience of Qatar, its culture, values and hospitality.

She noted that the impact of the World Cup's success remains evident today, whether in terms of facilities and infrastructure, human, administrative and organizational expertise, or the positive global perception of Qatar's ability to host the world's largest events. She said this experience gives Doha's bid considerable weight, but does not represent an endpoint, as Qatar continues to develop its sporting ecosystem and draw on every tournament it hosts to gain new expertise and enhance its readiness for the future.

Chief Executive Officer of Qatar's bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, stressed that Doha is not seeking merely to secure the right to host the Games, but is working to provide genuine added value to the international Olympic movement.

Hosting the Games in Qatar, she said, would offer an opportunity to expand the Olympic presence into a new region, particularly as the Middle East has never hosted the Olympic Games despite its rich history and culture and its sports-loving populations.

Al Kuwari said winning the right to host the Games would be an achievement for Qatar and the region as a whole, giving millions of people across the Middle East the opportunity to experience the Olympics firsthand. This, she said, would help broaden participation in different sports and encourage younger generations to take part.

The region has much to offer the Olympic movement, she said, whether through its culture and history, its geographic location or its ability to bring people together. Qatar, she added, can serve as a bridge between East and West and as a platform for promoting the values of friendship, respect and understanding on which the Olympic movement is based.

She said Qatar's existing sports facilities are among the strongest elements of its bid, noting that the country has a large number of stadiums, arenas and sports complexes that meet international standards and have already hosted major world and continental competitions in various sports.

The availability of these facilities would significantly reduce the need to build new permanent venues, she said, in line with the International Olympic Committee's emphasis on sustainability and making use of existing facilities rather than constructing large venues that may not be adequately used after the competitions end.

Al Kuwari also highlighted Qatar's extensive experience in operating and managing sports facilities, as well as its modern infrastructure, including road networks, public transportation, hotels, medical and service facilities, and technological infrastructure. These elements, she said, give Doha's bid a strong foundation and would help provide a comfortable and safe experience for athletes, spectators, delegations and media, with easy access to competition and training venues.

She said Qatar's compact geography offers an important competitive advantage, allowing athletes and spectators to travel between venues and competition sites within short periods without having to cover long distances between widely separated cities.

The short travel distances would directly benefit athletes, she said, as reducing travel time between the athletes' village and competition and training venues would give them more time to rest, recover and prepare physically and technically.

Spectators would also benefit from Qatar's compact geography, Al Kuwari said, as fans could attend more than one competition on the same day and easily move between stadiums and event areas. This would help provide a comprehensive and distinctive Olympic experience.

Qatar demonstrated the benefits of this model during the 2022 World Cup, she said, when fans were able to attend more than one match in a single day, something that had not been as easily possible at many previous editions of the tournament.

Al Kuwari said sustainability is a central pillar of Qatar's vision for hosting the Games. Planning, she stressed, extends beyond the competition period to include the post-Games phase and how all facilities and projects can be put to use afterward.

She pointed to Qatar's successful experience in converting facilities developed for sporting events into venues serving the community. This was the case following the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, she said, when a number of facilities were repurposed to serve different sectors after the Games.

The athletes' village used during the Doha Asian Games was subsequently converted into a facility serving the health sector and the community, she said, describing it as a clear example of Qatar's ability to plan for a lasting legacy and secure long-term benefits from sports investments.

Al Kuwari said Qatar's bid is based on ensuring that all projects can be used after the Games and contribute to the country's development, sporting and social goals, in line with sustainability principles and the International Olympic Committee's direction.

The true legacy of the Games, she stressed, is not limited to buildings and facilities but also includes a positive impact on people and society, with hosting the event helping to strengthen sports culture and encourage children and young people to participate in a variety of sports.

Al Kuwari said that watching the world's best athletes compete in Doha would inspire new generations and encourage many children, girls and young people to discover sports they may not previously have had the opportunity to experience. She noted that the Games would help broaden participation in sports, raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and strengthen the role of sport in building a healthy society, while also helping identify new talents capable of representing Qatar in various competitions in the future.

She added that Qatar's bid places considerable emphasis on the participation of women and young people, both in sports and in organizational, administrative and leadership roles, particularly as sport has demonstrated its ability to develop skills, build self-confidence and prepare capable individuals to assume responsibility. She noted that Qatar's human expertise represents one of the strongest assets of Doha's bid, as hosting major sporting events has helped develop a large pool of national professionals specializing in various aspects of sports organization.

She added that Qatar has developed advanced expertise in management, operations, media, marketing, transportation, security, medical services, technology and volunteering, in addition to the technical expertise of professionals working within federations, clubs and sporting institutions. She noted that such accumulated expertise is not gained by organizing a single tournament, but is the result of many years of work and participation in different events, something Qatar has achieved through a continuous program of continental and international competitions.

She noted that Qatar is committed to empowering Qatari men and women and providing them with opportunities to serve in positions of responsibility, ensuring that knowledge and expertise continue to be passed on to future generations.

Al Kuwari also discussed the stages of Qatar's bidding process, highlighting that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has adopted a new mechanism that differs from the previous traditional system and is based on continuous dialogue and cooperation with cities interested in hosting the Games. She noted that Qatar's bid is currently was at the Continuous Dialogue stage, which allows a city to present its vision and ambitions, discuss various aspects of hosting with the IOC, and examine the relevant capabilities, requirements and criteria.

She said this stage provides an opportunity to further develop the vision and gain a deeper understanding of the IOC’s requirements before progressing to more advanced stages involving a limited number of cities that demonstrate their readiness and ability to present a suitable project. She noted that the next stage would be the strategic dialogue stage, during which further details would be presented and questions and hosting criteria addressed, before moving into the targeted dialogue stage, which gives selected cities the opportunity to present their bids more comprehensively.

Al Kuwari stressed that the journey requires time, effort and teamwork and that the bid team is approaching it with the utmost seriousness, while carefully studying all aspects and drawing on previous experience to ensure the presentation of a comprehensive vision. She acknowledged that any city seeking to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games would naturally face challenges, but said Qatar views these challenges as opportunities for development and for demonstrating its capabilities.

She noted that the experience Qatar has gained from organizing major sporting events gives it the ability to address the various requirements involved, adding that the bid team is examining all technical, organizational, logistical, environmental and economic details. She said the strength of the bid does not depend on any single element, but rather on an integrated system encompassing sporting venues, infrastructure, transportation, sustainability, human expertise, community support and the ability to deliver an outstanding experience for athletes and fans.

She stressed the importance of the media’s role in supporting the bidding journey, noting that the media is a key partner in informing the public about the bid's objectives, value and various stages, particularly as the current phase requires greater communication and engagement with the local community and an explanation of the sporting, social, economic and cultural benefits that hosting the Games could bring.

She said the media has the ability to present a clear picture of Qatar’s capabilities to the world and highlight the country’s success stories, expertise, facilities and the legacy

it has created through hosting previous sporting events. She also stressed the importance of the participation of various institutions across society in supporting the bid, as hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a national project that requires collective efforts and is not limited to the sports sector alone.

Al Kuwari affirmed that Qatar has a track record of honoring its commitments and delivering successful and distinguished editions of the sporting events it hosts, and that the country is embarking on its bid for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games with a strong belief in its ability to succeed.

She explained that the aim of hosting the Games is to deliver an edition worthy of the history of the Olympic Movement while opening new horizons for it in the Middle East, as well as providing an outstanding experience for athletes and fans and leaving a sustainable legacy for future generations.

She also addressed the confidence placed in Qatari women and their growing role in sport, noting that her selection to lead Qatar’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games reflects the opportunities the country provides to young national talent, both men and women, to assume responsibility and participate in leading major projects.

She said the support afforded to women in Qatar has helped strengthen their presence across various fields, including sport, whether in competition, administration or decision-making, and that having women in positions of responsibility encourages more girls and women to believe in their abilities and pursue their ambitions. (QNA)