Qatar announces interest in hosting 2032 Olympics and Paralympics

Gulf state will host the 2022 football World Cup finals and has now targeted the biggest sporting event of all

Qatar has expressed an interest in hosting an Olympic and Paralympic Games as early as 2032.

The Gulf state will host the 2022 football World Cup finals and has now targeted the biggest sporting event of all.

“The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) today announced it has formally submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) its request to join the non-committal ‘continuous dialogue’ to host a future edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as early as 2032,” a statement on the QOC website posted on Monday read.

The rescheduled 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games are due to take place in Tokyo next summer, with Paris hosting the 2024 event and Los Angeles staging it four years after that.

QOC president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said: “Never before has an Olympic Games been held in the Middle East. The Olympic rings are a symbol of peace, unity and hope for people around the world, including the people of our region.

“Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a meaningful dialogue with the IOC’s Future Host Commission to explore our interest further and identify how the Olympic Games can support Qatar’s long-term development goals.”

The Qatari government was criticised in a recent United Nations report for its treatment of migrants working on infrastructure projects.

The report found there was “structural racism” in the country and found that “European, North American, Australian and Arab nationalities systematically enjoy greater human rights protections than South Asian and sub-Saharan African nationalities”.

PA