Doha has won race for the hosting rights for the 21st Asian Games in 2030 at the recently concluded meeting held by Olympic Council of Asia. Saudi Arabia, which was competing for the hosting rights against Qatar, will be hosting the 22nd edition of the games.
Doha achieved the highest number of votes in a secret ballot of the OCA’s 45 National Olympic Committees at the 39th OCA General Assembly in Oman on December 16. Doha has previously hosted the Asian Games in 2006.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are arch-rivals competing against each other politically and economically in the Middle-east. But with a deal brokered by IOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, it was decided that country with maximum votes will host the 2030 edition while the other country will host the next edition of the second-biggest multi-sport event after Olympics
Sheikh Ahmad, OAC President, said, “I believe you are making history, and I will be proud to have two Asian Games in West Asia. Thank you Asia for your solidarity and coordination.”
The voting by 45 delegates was organized both virtually and physically at JW Marriott hotel in Muscat, Oman. The voting numbers in the host cities election were 27 for Doha, ten for Riyadh and there were eight abstentions.
Qatar is also organizing the FIFA World Cup in 2022. For Saudi Arabia, 2034 Asian Games edition will be its first international hosting event. The 19th Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 10-25, 2022 and the 20th Asian Games will be held at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026.