The Doha 2020 Bid Committee has delivered its applicant file to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Doha 2020 delegation was led by vice chairman and Qatar Olympic Committee general secretary Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
It also included leading Qatari athletes, shooter Nasser al-Attiyah, swimmer Nada Arkaji, sprinter Noor al-Malki, Qatar daily Gulf Times reported on Tuesday.
Sheikh Saoud told the paper it was a “proud moment” to be delivering the Doha 2020 applicant file to the IOC.
“A huge amount of work has gone into its production and I believe its contents are very strong,” he was quoted as saying.
“We look forward to making its contents public soon and continuing to build on our campaign to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the Middle East for the first time.”
Doha is competing against four other cities for the right to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside Baku, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Tuesday withdrew Rome as a candidate, describing a planned bid as
“irresponsible”. The Italian leader decided the current economic crisis
would make such a financial commitment untenable.
The IOC will select candidate cities in May and the 2020 host city will be selected in Buenos Aires in September 2013.
The applicant file also outlined an “exciting legacy vision” focused on building opportunities for Olympic sports in the region and growing participation across the Middle East – especially among girls and women.
“2020 is a historic opportunity to grow the Olympic movement in a new region and our applicant file is a crucial step in our ambition to turn this opportunity into reality,” he added.
On Friday, the campaign to bring the Olympic Games to Qatar in 2020 unveiled the branding it hopes will lead it to a successful bid.
The logo has been inspired by the Arabic word for Doha – ‘ad-dawha’ translated as ‘the nurturing tree’.
Doha 2020 also unveiled its bid slogan – Inspiring Change – which organisers said demonstrates the impact Olympic and Paralympic Games could have in the region.
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