Formula won

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The sound hits you like a sonic boom. Tyres screech, smoke rises and the smell of burning rubber fills the air. 15,000 fans stare in awe, and I am one of them. The UAE capital city, its royal family and collections of residents from all over the world have waited a long time for this.

Fifteen years, or 180 months to be precise, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has made the dream come true. The wait however is now over, and the moment the emirate has been yearning for, the dream of having its name on the lips of 800 million households globally has finally come true. The emirate has secured an initial seven-year deal to host the Formula One Grand Prix. Following an adrenalin-packed F1 Festival with eight of the sport’s top young drivers spinning doughnuts in the heart of the capital’s streets, including double world champion Fernando Alonso, Bernie Ecclestone, father of modern motorsport, CEO of Formula One Management and the fixer behind the world’s most glamorous sporting event, walks into the packed Emirates Palace ballroom and announces that Abu Dhabi will see the road equivalent of MiG-fighter planes tearing around a natural 5.6km island circuit in the Gulf winter of 2009 at 300kmh. The room erupts.

“This is the biggest thing to happen to the emirate,” HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) tells me as soon as the cheers die down.

“The impact of the announcement and the race will be immense. We can’t really put a dollar value on it but once it is established then you have to read the trend and extract the numbers.

“One number I can give you is that the media impact of this event will reach 800 million households which is amazing,” he says.

“The economic impact of the event on the overall population of Abu Dhabi will be enormous. It’s the best event that any destination could have. We had the Gulf football Cup and the PGA tour golf event for the second time this year. In 2006 the outreach was 470 million households and this year 580 million viewers worldwide.”

The sporting element of F1, however, pales into insignificance when you consider the macro-economic impact clinching a race deal can have on a country. Despite spending an average of between US$10m and US$20m a year to gain the rights to hold a race from the Federation of International Automotive (FIA), F1 attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators to a destination on race day and, more importantly, millions of additional year-round visitors, hungry to taste and experience what an F1 location has to offer. 150,000 spectators, for example, flocked to the inaugural 2004 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, one-third of whom were tourists, and according to research AC Neilson F1 generated around US$412m worth of benefits for property developers, hotels, tourism, catering, retailing and advertising companies. Over the course of the three-day event, every domestic tourist spent between US$25 to US$82 everyday, while those from overseas spent up to US$125. Closer to home, last year’s Bahrain International Circuit claims that its last GP generated US$394m in direct income to businesses and traders in the Kingdom, worth almost 3% of GDP.

“We haven’t run the numbers but we know we have a target to reach three million tourists in here by 2015,” says Sheikh Sultan, “This event will help us to reach that figure. The macro-economic impact of this event is priceless.”

Sheikh Sultan is among the rising business leaders of the emirate. Not only is he one of the few men that have secured Abu Dhabi’s economic diversity with events such as F1 and the recent announcement of its huge cultural district on Saadiyat Island, he is a symbol of the future prosperity for the UAE, leading the country away from its reliance on oil and into new and exciting multidimensional projects. “I knew about the deal months ago,” he says, admitting it was difficult to keep it a secret. “But we took a back seat and waited for the right time.

“We work as a team here in Abu Dhabi to reach one goal and raise the profile of Abu Dhabi as an international tourism destination. As a tourism authority we have already initiated some major events and encourage other entities like Mubadala (5% owners of luxury car manufacturers Ferrari) to progress.

“In Abu Dhabi we are going into the path of balanced development and trying to create high-class events like F1,” he continues. “Balanced development is going to be through environment and culture — when we announced the cultural district of Saadiyat Island we said this would be the biggest cultural undertaking ever, and we hope to continue on that path.”

As Sheikh Sultan leaves, a tuneful polyphonic mobile ringtone rings out its cheery melody time and again.

I’ve heard that somewhere before. It’s F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone being hounded every second of the day for an update on the announcement.

“I'm thrilled to secure a race in the Emirates building on Bahrain’s success since it became the first race to be held in the Middle East in 2004,” he says as I coax him to one side, interrupting his frantic texting.

“It’s going to be the best F1 race the world has ever seen,” he says. “This is the part of the world to be in, it’s just so go-ahead with everything and that’s it.”

Denying the deal is connected to the acceptance of cigarette advertising in the Middle East and looking mildly angry at the suggestion, the 76 year-old adds that he had the opportunity to build a circuit and he took it wholeheartedly, however, ‘the fixer’ adds he won’t move to the UAE and would rather stay in Britain.

“A lot of them [the drivers] have bought things here, shirts and things but I’m happy where I am. I’d rather be here than Marbella though,” he jokes, cracking a rare smile. This soon disappears, however, when I suggest that Abu Dhabi’s growth and infrastructure plans will far outweigh those of the quieter Bahrain. “They’re all growing, all these countries in this part of the world. I’ve seen the plans and there will be 18 large hotels.” In Bahrain, I ask? “No here. We’re in Abu Dhabi not Bahrain,” he snaps back. But I would expect nothing less from someone who has built up an estimated fortune of US$4.5bn. One thing that does surprise me, however, is when HE Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, turns round and tells me that negotiations between the Abu Dhabi government and Bernie were “really enjoyable”.

“From the day we shook hands and agreed verbally, the terms haven’t changed.” I leave Al Mubarak with a thought. If the local government can have fun coming to an agreement with the fearsome head of F1, it can do just about anything. He simply smiles, and nods in agreement.

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