Introduction
Sports mega-events in the world continue to be widely celebrated, admired, and appreciated by many people in different countries (Preuss, 2004).
The popular mega-events in the world include Olympic Games, the widely admired Soccer World Cup, UEFA Championship, and all other related mega-events.
All these events are adored given their pleasure and entertainment and due to numerous impacts they bring to those countries and regions that host them (Humpreys and Prokopowicz, 2005).
Olympic Games, for instance, have been found to be the most popular and widely watched games according to the research findings by the Sponsorship Intelligence (SI) (Humpreys and Prokopowicz, 2005).
The research commissioned by International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2004 indicates that, Olympic Games have a popularity awareness of about 95% among people of both ages around the world (Sport Business, 2005).
Moreover, the Olympic sports are not just seen as sports for entertainment, but the event is further regarded as a cultural and social event.
According to the research findings, 76% of people believe that Olympics constitute more than just a sport; 72% believe that Olympics constitute competition aimed at winning, while 72% contend that Olympics provide good role models for children and young people (Sport Business, 2005).
Apart from these, Olympics Games have had economic impacts on countries and regions holding the events; indeed, tourism, hospitality, image building, and infrastructural developments have been realized as a result of Olympic Games (Preuss, 2004).
These therefore may be the diverse reasons as to why various committees and stakeholders in Qatar have come together to strategize on the best ways to ensure the 2020 Summer Olympics Games are held in the country.
Given that bidding for mega-events in a global stage is a complex and sometimes difficulty process, the country does not leave any chance to waste and efforts have been beefed up to ensure the games come to the country.
Aims and Objectives of the Proposal
World events remain coveted by majority of people across the world, especially Olympics Games (Kumar 2007). As a result, effort by those interested in having chance to host international sporting events cannot be underestimated or ignored.
There has been growing enthusiasm in the Arab world over the need to host world events and promote the region into world limelight and recognition (Houlihan and Green, 2011).
Apart from Cairo, Doha is another city in the Arab world that has increased its effort to have Summer Olympic Games of 2020 held in the city.
The main aim of the stakeholders in the city is to enable elevation of Doha and Qatar at large into international limelight and be able to bring international trade and investment in the city.
The stakeholders of the city and the Qatar Olympic Committee have come together to put down critical strategies that can be used to win the bid for rights to host 2020 Summer Olympics Games.
Although there are diverse factors as to why the city is interested in the winning bid rights to host the games, it is seen that the basic objectives of the stakeholders in the city is to increase tourist activities as a result of the games, and also motivate investors into the country and particularly in the city.
Through Olympic Games, the stakeholders of Doha City aim to portray a unique sporting experience for the city that will in turn culminate into an international brand and this will enable the city to march alongside other global famous cities that have been host to Olympics Games and their status has gone up (Houlihan and Green, 2011).
Background Information
It is important to explore the background information concerning Olympic Games and this will lead the research to look at Olympics Games in history, explore the role played by International Olympic Committee (IOC) and eventually analyze background information about the bidding city-Doha City.
History of Olympic Games
Olympics Games constitute major internationally recognized events that primarily feature summer and winter sports. When the sports are held every four years, the world witnesses a high number of participants and involvement, with thousands of athletes taking part in different sports.
Olympics Games, as compared to other international events, appear to be the most popular sports in the history of mankind. They attract a high number of participants and currently, about 200 countries take part in the games.
Olympics Games derive their origin in the city of Olympia located in Greece, possibly during the period of 776 BC (NOSTOS Hellenic Information Society (UK), 2000). The first games in the city were organized in the valley of Olympia in Elis, which was full of woods and other vegetations.
At some point, historians point to the fact that, the period 776 BC was not the first time the Olympics Games were being held in the city of Olympia, but it was the first kind of games conducted with great organization that was accompanied by festivals, usually held after four years (NOSTOS Hellenic Information Society (UK), 2000).
This was especially after the signing of peace agreement between the inhabitants of Elis and Pisa, and as a result, Olympics Games were considered the avenue to foster this peace agreement.
At the same time, Olympics Games became the appropriate avenue through which people of Greece and especially Olympia could express their pride of nationhood, apart from the peaceful goals of cohesive co-existence.
From the first year they were held (776 BC), Olympics Games became an event that was subsequently held after four years up to 393 AD, before being interrupted and stopped by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius 1 (NOSTOS Hellenic Information Society (UK), 2000).
At this point, Olympics Games had been practiced for about 1170 years. Efforts in modern world increased to have Olympics Games restored and these efforts were particularly evident in France during the 19th century.
Subsequently, the modern form of Olympics Games picked in 1896 and it was held in Athens, Greece, and this is why the modern world is accustomed to Summer Olympics Games.
The two most important Olympics Games that majority of athletes participate in include the Winter and the Summer Olympics Games.
However, in recent times, more developments in terms of changes have been witnessed as far as the sports are concerned, whereby, there has been introduction of Youth Olympic Games for young athletes and introduction of Paralympics Games for athletes with disabilities (Young 2004).
The modern world has grown through mass media commercialized Olympics Games and today, athletes participate in the games as professionals.
In order to host Olympics Games, a country needs thorough preparations of key elements and infrastructures, and as a result, the entire process is regarded as risky.
Nevertheless, this has not discouraged determined cities and countries from seeking rights to host such games. In addition, this may just explains why the city of Doha is currently in the race for bid to have the rights to hold the games in 2020.
The country views the chance to host the 2020 Olympics Games as an opportunity to enable the city realize robust developments in terms of infrastructures, as well as social and economic progress (Houlihan and Green 2011).
The International Olympic Committee
Given the size of the Olympics Games and high participation of countries and individuals, there has been the need to have a body in place to ensure sanity is observed in conducting the sports.
International Olympics Committee was created solely to bring together diverse stakeholders involved in the sports into a kind of recognizable community guided by rules and regulations as to how the games should be developed, facilitated, and preserved.
The body was founded in 1894 by an individual known as Baron Pierre de Courtin, and the headquarters of the organization are located at Lausanne in Switzerland (Bowdin, 2010).
As a result, International Olympics Committee has assumed key roles such as having the powers to facilitate the selection process of countries to host Olympics, presiding over all activities of planning for Olympics Games, providing necessary and appropriate information concerning Olympics Games, and so on (Bowdin, 2010).
Simply, International Olympics Committee is regarded as the primary and supreme organization mandated with responsibilities and powers to preside over Olympic Movement and related activities.
At the same time, the IOC functions as a custodian of collaborative relationships involving Olympics Games Committees such as, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations (Ifs), the athletes, and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs).
From the responsibility it play or performs, IOC has been the primary nerve to the progress and success of Olympics Games across the world, since its planning procedures ensure smoothness in hosting and running of Olympics Games.
The Bidding City-Doha
The city of Doha is regarded as biggest city in Qatar and acts as the capital city of the republic of Qatar. The city is located in a region popularly known as Persian Gulf and according to census statistics of 2008, the city has a population of about 998, 651 people (Oxford Business Group, 2008).
At the same time, the city is considered as one of the primary municipalities of Qatar. Moreover, the city inhabits about 80% of the country’s population, as well as acts as the basic economic centre of the country.
At the same time, it is the administrative centre for the political government of Qatar, where majority of officials reside and conduct their business or activities.
Majority of the city’s inhabitants are expatriates who come from different countries such as the Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Germany, and majority from Asian and European countries (Oxford Business Group, 2008).
Infrastructure development in the city is huge and many investors have put up modern buildings in the city. Moreover, infrastructures such communication, transport and financial services in the city are excellent, and this can be linked to economic role the city plays in the country and the entire Persian Gulf region (Oxford Business Group, 2008).
Modern hospitality facilities are being put up, and this shows how the city is likely to be a hub for tourism activities. On overall, Doha has placed itself in a good position of appealing to diverse international and national investors and tourists, which may just explain the continued growth of the city, especially in the future.
The intention to bid for 2020 rights of hosting Summer Olympics are further boosted by Doha’s role in the past, where it has played host to major regional sports.
Some of the sports the city has hosted in the past include 2006 Asian Games, 2011 Pan Arab Games, 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and in 2022, the city will be home to FIFA World Cup.
Analysis of Olympic Games
Strengths
Strengths of Olympics Games are reflected in the overall benefits the games bring to the diverse people in terms of economic, social, and cultural status.
In analyzing the past reports about the benefits Olympics Games has been able to bring, it is clear that the hosting community can derive various benefits from the games.
For example, in a report to assess the impact of 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games in British Columbia, it was established that, the games resulted into long-term impact for the people and communities in the area, and these long-term positive impacts translated into numerous sectors of the economy (Nebbeling, 2002).
The games were found to results into increased higher volumes of visitors to British Columbia, prior and after the games, especially after the advertisement of the city (Nebbeling, 2002).
Moreover, the games provided opportunity for the products and services of the region to be exposed to wide array of both national and international audience, thereby promoting and facilitating trade and investment.
At the same time, the report noted that, as a result of sports, the region was able to create long-term and sustaining legacy reflected in aspects such as sports facilities, cultural and sports endowment programs, social housing and major transportation infrastructure improvements (Nebbeling, 2002).
In another report, which has been produced about the likely impact of London Olympics of 2012, it has been estimated that the games will lead to creation of about 30,000 new jobs (Halper, 2009).
Furthermore, study by the Olympics Games Impact Study shows that, the GDP of London would increase by 5.9 billion pounds between the years 2005 and 2016 as a result of Olympics Games (Halper, 2009).
From these evidences, it is clear that hosting Olympics Games is likely to stimulate economic, social, and cultural benefits to the city of Doha over a long-term period.
Weaknesses
Despite the numerous positive things associated with Olympics Games, it has to be noted that the games also reflect and exhibit abilities to promote negative consequences, which may have far-reaching negative consequences to the people, communities, and environment.
In the past, Olympics Games have been associated with displacement, migration, and relocation of people, especially from areas where fields and other infrastructural buildings have to be built (Roche, 2000).
This in turn has led people to loose their cultural attachments to aspects like land, vegetations, arts, and aspects that reinforce identity of people.
In similar manner, the high number of people who crowd the hosting city does not auger well with the environment and resources of the area.
Environmental pollution and degradation is likely to increase, resources are likely to be strained, and people’s social and cultural stability is likely to be disrupted (Roche, 2000).
Moreover, such high world events result into skyrocketing of prices of products and services in cities and neighborhoods, where the games are taking pace. This may not auger well to the economic and welfare of people in those areas, especially those with low incomes.
External Analysis of the Bidding City
This section will evaluate and assess the suitability of Doha City to host 2020 Summer Olympics Games in regard to its PESTLE factors and SWOT factors.
PESTLE factors look at external environment of the city, while SWOT factors look at the internal factors that make the city suitable for the games.
Pestle Analysis
Political
Qatar is one of the few countries in the Persian region and Arab world that enjoy relative political stability. The country, unlike majority, was not affected by the Arab uprising that characterized majority of Arab countries in the past few months.
Much of the country’s political control is exercised in the city of Doha; indeed, apart from being an economic hub, Doha is a political and administrative base of the country’s key institutions.
Given its position in national and international level, the city’s security is high. In recent times, big international events took place in the city, and this just demonstrates how the city is equipped to hold many international events in future.
For example, the city was host to the first ministerial-level dubbed the ‘Doha Development Round of World Trade Organizations negotiations (World Trade Organization, 2012).
Apart from this, the city successfully hosted the 2011 Asian Games, together with 2011 Pan Arab Games. Moreover, the city is home to numerous fields that will be used in 2022 FIFA World Cup Soccer.
The success of these events shows how Doha is politically stable, and it has used this stability to create an environment for internationally recognized events.
Economics
Qatar is one of the Arab countries that produce oil and natural gases in large quantities. Majority of this wealth is concentrated in Doha and the city has become the economic centre of Qatar.
For instance, the country is home to the largest oil companies such as Qatar Petroleum, Qatar gas and Ras Gas (Martin-Bea, 2008).
Due to diversification strategies that the government has initiated in terms of the economy of the country, there is booming construction, financial, real estate, tourism, and service industry in the city of Doha (Martin-Bea, 2008).
This has also been contributed by the ‘modernization program’ spearheaded by the head of state of Qatar (Martin-Bea, 2008).
The economic potential in the city has attracted local and outside investors, a situation that shows how Doha has progressively embraced globalization aspects, and this makes the city the appropriate venue for 2020 Summer Olympics Games.
Social
About 80% of Qatar population resides in the city, and this phenomenon is spiced up by presence of large population of emigrants. Doha acts as home to diverse cultures and groups of people who tend to exist in harmony.
At the same time, tolerance of spiritual and cultural differences seems to be excellent in Doha, and this can be evidenced from construction of numerous churches in the city (Martin-Bea, 2008).
Literacy level in the city is high and people tend to be informed in wide array of issues. At the same time, education is key priority of government of Qatar, and this has seen Doha have some of the best institutions.
Education and literacy are two critical aspects through which social development of any society can be realized. In this sphere, it can therefore be said that, bidding for Summer Olympics is likely to consider the educational level of people of Doha.
Educated people are perceived to make good decisions, are informed, and are more civilized. Apart from education, sports and cultural arts also dominate the lives of people of Doha, a situation likely to be an avenue for tourism and recreational activities.
Lastly, Doha is one of the cities that have been found to have the lowest crime rates in the region, and this tends to auger well to any international event (Wallace, N.d).
Technology
Doha has progressed immensely due to availability and use of technology. The infrastructural development in the city has forced the residents to be first receptors of information.
In addition, there are many social networks as a result of wide distribution and presence of technology such as internet (Martin-Bea, 2008).
As a result, most activities in the city and the lives of people in the city have been influenced greatly by technology. Technology can be used to spur tourism and economic activities in the city.
Moreover, people conducting their functions in the city are likely to remain connected to the outer world through internet and social networks. Therefore, sophisticated technology of the city is likely to be an asset of winning the bid for the Olympics Games.
Legal
As compared to its neighbors, Qatar has been undertaking legal reforms in order to make its trade and investment opportunities both to local and foreign investors (Wallace, N.d).
As a result, there are many foreign investors in Doha, and the entire regulation system in the country strives to be transparent and business-friendly.
The friendly business environment created in the country is likely to attract more visitors who may be interested in numerous opportunities available in the country. Hence, the amenable nature of people of Doha is likely to increase confidence among people, hence the need for the bid.
Environment
Doha has a subtropical climate that has seen heat level in the city sometimes go up. Temperatures average over 30c degrees, and this is especially during the May to September period.
Rainfall is scarce and humidity is variable. However, the government emphasis on construction of real estate in the suburb makes it possible to move out of the city.
At the same time, the suburb has some of the excellent beaches that have cool breezes where people can relax during hot day. Moreover, proposals have been tabled to construct air-conditioned stadiums in order to beat the heat in the country.
SWOT Analysis
The city of Doha can use SWOT tools to identify the primary strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In this manner, the report will look at the key opportunities the city has and its key threats.
The opportunities can be pursued while threats can be analyzed and strategies developed to avoid them in the most harmless manner.
Opportunities
Major opportunities for Doha include a booming economy that enables the city to provide essential services and amenities to participants and audience.
Another opportunity lies in the country’s international image of being one of the safest countries to live and conduct business in. At the same time, information technology that has resulted into an information-based society in the country gives the city an upper
hand, especially when compared to other competitors, apart from Madrid.
Another opportunity for the country is exhibited in the infrastructural development in terms of facilities, hotels, housings, and numerous fields.
The country, and especially the city, has some of the excellent and state-of-the- art fields that have seen the country host 2006 Asian Games, 2011 Pan Arab Games, 2011 AFC Asian Cup successfully, and the eventual coming 2022 World Soccer Football Cup.
Threats
The major threat for the city’s bid is the environmental matters. The heat in the country, especially during summer, remains the biggest obstacle to the city’s bid.
This fact is further accelerated by the city’s request to change the dates for the Olympics from July-August to August in order to avoid high levels of temperatures (Casey, 2012).
Moreover, the city aims to change the events schedule so that major events take place in the morning instead of the day to avoid interruption from high temperature rates.
These issues may be huge obstacles for the attempts being made by the city and this will require committees concerned with the actual bid process to device appropriate ways to deal with these issues. One way is to focus more on constructing air-conditioned fields, but the committee has to show how this plan is viable and sustainable.
Porter’s Five Forces
Porter asserts that, before organizations can develop successful strategies, they need to understand what particular forces are likely to affect their operations and profits in the entire industry (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009).
As a result, the author identified five forces (Porter’s five forces model), which he argued that have the capacity to affect the profitability of the organization.
The argument that is advanced is that, all firms present in a particular industry are likely to face forces within their industry, which in one way or the other may affect profitability capability of the company.
As a result, if a firm or business organization understands these forces, it is in a position to develop specific strategies, which can allow the business or organization to take advantage or protect itself from the forces and in turn, enable the organization to consistently remain profitable (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009).
The five forces include buyers, suppliers, new entrants, substitutes, and rivalry (Ahlstrom and Bruton 2009). Although Olympics Games have no competitor, since the IOC operates the games as monopoly, the major competition is likely to be witnessed among sports companies that supply different materials for the games.
At the moment, Sports Companies are many, and as the popularity of the game increases, new sports companies rise up to compete with the already established companies.
As a result, bargaining power of buyers (sports women and men) is likely to be high. Given that there are many players and new entrants are likely to increase due to less stringent factors, sports companies may want to maintain steady and loyal suppliers to beat deadlines during the games, and as a result, the bargaining power of suppliers is likely to increase as competition among sports companies increases (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009).
On the other hand, there are less stringent rules limiting new companies, and this situation is likely to see entrants of new companies increase.
At the same time, presence of numerous players is likely to see availability of numerous substitutes, a situation likely to reduce prices of sports products. Lastly, rivalry is likely to be high due to ease of entry and presence of many established players (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009).
Review of Success Key Factors for the Event
Analysis of Doha city leads to identification of key success factors that the city can exploit in order to win bid rights for Games. The country boasts of political stability, economic boom, and robust development of the city.
This is in addition to the technological development of the city, the civilization, and cosmopolitan nature of the city, the social cohesiveness, and enhanced security measures with reduced crime rates in the city, and the infrastructural development of the city in terms of fields, roads, houses, hotels, and other critical facilities.
Technology, for instance, can be used to increase worldwide solicitation for support for the city to be the destiny of 2020 Olympics Games.
On the other hand, political stability and support can enable the city to receive critical support in its endeavor to have the bid to host the games. Social cohesiveness of the city on the other hand can be used to attract more attention and enthusiasm from people around the world.
Analysis of Strategic Option to ensure Successful Hosting
Porter develops the Porter’s Generic Strategy Framework, where the author proposes three responses to industry structure and to competition in the business environment.
The three responses are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (Eldring, 2009). In the case of Doha city, focus leadership is the most appropriate for the city stakeholders to utilize in order to win bid rights.
Doha city, as compared to other cities, has excellent infrastructures, economy, security, political stability, and cultural and arts centers.
As a result, the city of Doha boosts itself as home to technological powerhouse, excellent tourism destination, and unique sports fields and facilities.
At the same time, the amenable nature of people of Doha cannot be compared to any other in the category of those competing with the city.
Games such as Olympics succeed in an environment in which tourism flourishes, security is guaranteed, information technology is excellent, infrastructural development is perfect, and civilization of the city is world class or global.
Recommendations to Strategy Approach
From the PESTLE and SWOT studies that have been done, it is clear that Doha’s key resources that are necessary to win the bid of rights to hold 2020 Olympic Games.
The infrastructures are excellent, together with other key facilities. However, as it was seen, environmental concerns for the heat in the country remain the obstacle.
As a result, the city should establish a professional and consultancy body to evaluate the best ways the issue of increased temperatures can be dealt with so as not to crop up as the major obstacle to the bid.
At the same time, the city should establish a committee of experts to evaluate the sustainability and viability of putting up air-conditioned fields (Casey, 2012).
Another recommendation suggested for stakeholders of the city is to devise, enhance, and promote effective advertisement strategies for the city, a situation that will increased general international awareness about Doha.
Given that Madrid is the most important competitor and known in world, the city should increase advertisement strategies to counter this development and position itself as the widely known city in the world. Both local and international advertisement agencies should be used in this strategy.
Conclusion
Bidding for rights to host internationally recognized events is gradually becoming a competitive process such that cities across the world no longer find easy to obtain the rights.
This shows how the process and popularity of games has become important. This great enthusiasm can be associated with increased economic, social, and cultural benefits associated with hosting internationally recognized sports.
For the 2020 Summer Olympics Games, the final round of selection has five cities, and Doha city is one of them. Bidding for the second time, the city has to put in place all the necessary measures and strategies to ensure that the chance does not slip away.
As a result, this report has largely looked at how the city of Doha can successful bid for the right to host the 2020 Olympics events.
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