DOHA //Qatar, who last year won the bidding rights to host the 2022 football World Cup, has now turned its targets on bringing the 2020 Olympic Games to the country, despite seemingly insurmountable climate challenges.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already sent a positive signal to Doha by extending the period during which the Games traditionally take place.
For Qatar, the Olympics would take place in September and October instead of in between July 15 and August 31, when temperatures in the Gulf nation reach more than 50°C. The decision is rich in political symbols.
It shows the IOC is no longer giving preferential treatment to countries in the northern hemisphere that bask in temperate climates.
Qatar has followed the flow and plans to stage the 2020 showpiece between September 20 and October 20. The Gulf nation has already shown it is capable of hosting major events.
In 2006 the Asian Games, involving more than 8,600 athletes from 45 countries, were staged in Qatar, where 30 international events are also held each year. In Qatar, potential Olympic venues can be easily identified.
The capital, Doha, has the impressive Aspire Zone, a high-tech Olympic complex with several sporting areas modelled on the ones in Munich and Beijing, in addition to the World Cup stadiums that are being built.
There is also an infinite number of desert locations, and many facilities can be built as long as the funds are made available. Qatar has already said that the 2022 World Cup will be played in specially-created, air-conditioned stadiums.
"Everything is possible here. We can examine, rebuild or re-programme anything in a few months," said an official.
Following the success of the Asian Games, Doha kicked off an official bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in October 2007, but it was eliminated from consideration in June 2008.
Although it is a very warm and small country, with around 1.7 million inhabitants, Qatar holds a key point in its favour.
It is one of the rare countries in the world not to be facing any financial crisis - a key element for the IOC and Fifa, football's world governing body, who must step in to fill the void should Games organisers default.
"Our goal is to have great Games, to offer new opportunities to the Olympics," said Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) president.
Doha, too, wants "to leave behind a legacy, not just for Qatar but for the entire Middle East, a region which is home to 450 million people under the age of 30," he said.
Qatar, meanwhile, keeps its fingers crossed and officials say hopefully their country will host the Olympics one day.
An expert on IOC issues agrees.
"Qatar will host the Olympics soon," he said. "2020, 2024, 2028. It will happen for sure."
