Host Cities conference to take place in Dubai

The two-day conference will help developing countries know how to host and organise international events.

DUBAI // A conference will be held in Dubai on how developing countries can host international events, just days after the results of the Expo 2020 vote.

The Host Cities conference will take place on December 4 and 5, and is expected to feature a series of announcements from international and local attendees.

One of the attendees, the man behind Turkey’s thwarted 2020 Olympic bid, has already come forward to say the country would attempt again to secure the games.

“We offered the Olympics the chance to bridge to a brand new culture, to a country and a region that has never hosted the games before,” said Hasan Arat.

“One of our biggest challenges was demonstrating to the International Olympic Committee that we, as a city and as a nation, have the capacity to stage a well-organised, well-funded, safe, and efficient Games.

“We showed them this and with the planned investment we ensured that Istanbul was more than capable of hosting the Games in 2020 - but sometimes property owners want to see evidence of infrastructure in action and already in place.

“We are now better equipped than ever before to host major sports events and we have a greater understanding of what is required to host an Olympic Games.”