Legacy of Asian Games, 2006 on Qatar - Research Paper Example

• Legacy of Asian Games, 2006 on Qatar
• By: Shaikha Al-Khulaifi
• QID: 20100080
• Supervised By: Dr. Mahfoud Amara

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify and assess the legacy of the Asian Games, 2006, which is considered to be the best event hosted by the nation until date. The study also provides a clear understanding of the legacy that this event had left behind including sustainability of the nation and raising the living standards of future generations. Analysis of the impact of this event in relation to sport participation and sport development in general would contribute to the completion of the study effectively.

• Introductions: Legacy of Asian Games, 2006 on Qatar

The Asian Games, 2006 were held in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. It was the 15th Asian games and a grand success in-spite of the fact that Qatar had the opportunity to host such an event for the first time. It was one of the biggest and the best hosted Asian Games till date and this legacy largely contributed in the promotion of the country to the opportunity providers for the sports-persons as well as businessmen. The modernization from all perspectives in an Arab nation as shown in this case provides a vivid picture of people involvement from innumerable fields of work like broadcasting and media, spectators, sports personalities, event managers, volunteering agencies, and sponsors among various others. Qatar was the nation to invest the highest amount of capital in the Asian games, which ranged to an amount of around US$ 2.8 billion. Another US$173 million accompanied it on the development of the project of the Hamad Medical City, the buildings of which served the accommodation facilities of celebrity guest’s in the event (Nauright, 2012; Oxford Business Group, 2012).

The social development of the entire nation, especially Doha was largely focused upon being able to run the entire event smoothly. In-spite of all these arrangements, the country like all other host nations feared the risk of empty stadiums. This worry was later on eliminated when around 1.05 billion spectators were found to have reserved their seats for the event (Nauright, 2012; Oxford Business Group, 2012).Therefore, the study revolves around the legacy of 2006 Asian Games, as hosted by the capital city of Qatar behind making it an event of grand success. The study further provides a deeper insight into various aspects like its strategies, planning, and arrangements that has been considered for making the event a successful one in the long run. Hence, the aim of the study is to identify and assess the legacy of the games for the nation, particularly with regards development agenda of the country and the development of sport. To attain the purpose of the study, an objective have also been framed, which is to analyze the legacy left by Qatar for its future generation after successfully organizing the biggest sports event of the period that is the Asian games of 2006.

• Literature Review
• Legacy of the Event
• According to findings of Oxford Business Group (2012), the Asian Games 2006, hosted by Qatar aimed at the fulfillment of the legacy. It was stated in the reports of IOC Working Group as “Doha seeks to provide a lasting legacy for young men and women throughout the Arab-speaking world to participate in sport and promote the vision of Qatar as an academic, sports and major tourist center of the Middle East” (Oxford Business Group, 2012). As stated in the report of RasGas Company Limited (2007), the reason behind the great success of the event was also regarded as a legacy because it had evidenced innumerable record-breaking performances by the athletes in varied genres. One such sports event was swimming, where Takashi Yamamoto, a Japanese Swimmer had won gold medal for the third time on a row even after winning the final rounds of the 100m-butterfly event. Most importantly, the athletes of Qatar had also performed extraordinarily in the sports events, winning 9 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 11 bronze medals overall. These increased the legacy of the event, as Qatar had emerged not only as the sports hub but also as a tourist spot after the completion of the event for the people all round the globe (RasGas Company Limited, 2007).
• As stated by Grichting (2013), the legacy that Qatar has been developing for its future generation in the global sector had initially started with developments and modernizations in the field of sport and even in the successful organizing of the international events. The internationalization of nation had therefore brought about a revelation in varied spheres like construction of museums, starting up of Education City, Financial institutes, and banks for the development of countries. Additionally, urbanization was the center of attraction for the nation at that period of time, which had largely started with the hosting of the high budgeted sporting events like the Asian games, 2006. The legacies continued even after with the linking of the city to sea, as a part of the Barcelona Olympic Master Plan and the planning of infrastructure development in the future period of time (Grichting, 2013). This has also be agreed by Deloitte & Touche (2013), who stated that the programs organized by Qatar in the fields of sports also urban development with the complete support of the government tends to provide generation ahead with a legacy. It also provided them with an encouragement to do something better and more remarkable in the fields of sports, especially football along with that of development in the nation’s economy and infrastructural expansion (Deloitte &Touche, 2013). These perspectives therefore provide a clear understanding of the legacy that is associated with Qatar because of the hosting Asian games of 2006 in an extravagant manner. Hence, this issue is considered as a very apt reason behind discussing it in minute details. It also proves its significance in the field of modernization, which is indeed a matter a deep concern for the traditional approached Arabian nations.
• According to the report published in the China Daily Information Co. (2006), the sports officials of Qatar had expressed their feelings even before the completion of the Asian games of 2006. They had expressed that the success of particular event would open up the paths of stardom and development of the nation in all fields because of the legacy that the event would leave behind. The event becoming successful had increased motivation level of other committees related to sports for organizing such events within the nation to be able to contribute extensively in promotion of sports in the international levels. The Qatar Olympic Committee was not an exception, as it has planned to participate in the bidding process of the Olympics that will be held in the year 2016. Being a small country with less population, it might have to face immense competition from strong bidders, but Qatar is ready to face them with the support and strength of its capital resources (China Daily Information Co., 2006). To this Hoye, Nicholson & Houlihan (2010) added that the main aim of Qatar with its large collection of stadiums was to stage the Olympic at one of point, which motivated them to bid for the Asian Games in the years 2006. It therefore served the right purpose and made the nation strong enough to take steps ahead in developing the nation and making itself ready to bid for the Olympics that would be held in the year 2016. The transformation of Qatar was not only executed from the infrastructural perspectives, but also developments were initiated from the economic as well as the sports segments (Hoye, Nicholson &Houlihan, 2010).
• How to Measure Legacy of Sport Event?
• The legacy of the Asian Games held in Qatar in the year 2006 was a grand occasion for the entire nation. The success of the event was greatly evident from the measurement of legacies in the field of sports as well as the nation’s economy that it had left for the future generations residing therein. This legacy could be easily measured with the complete focus on functioning of the media. Besides, the functioning is a part of promoting the nation’s success as well as its potential in sufficing the needs of the sports-person, tourists as well as the businessmen starting their business within the boundaries of the nation. Moreover, the legacy can be measured with the help of the fact that the concepts like ‘Islamic’, ‘Middle Eastern’ as well as ‘Arab’ had become insignificant in the global arena. Qatar as a nation considered these concepts subjective during their political discourses. The modernization and the rate of urban development of the nation that had come up after the hosting of the sports event successfully can also be regarded as a very important tool for measuring the legacy of the event on the nation of Qatar (Amara, 2005).

Methods & Results

The main purpose of the study is to provide a clear answer for the research question, “What is the legacy of the 2006 Asian games on the Qatari nation?”To answer this question effectively, an in-depth analysis has been conducted on the 2006 Asian games along with examining its impact on Qatar as a tradition and customs-oriented nation. The discussions on this issue has been made on the basis of secondary research, which provides a clear hint of the legacy left behind the Asian games, 2006 for its sports marketing /management team to bring about a splurge of development and progress in the field of sports. Besides, ethical consideration has been duly considered to ensure reliability and validity of results presented in the study. In this regard, only the reliable and valid sources are used as well as misrepresentation of the facts has been avoided.

As far the study is concerned, the legacy of the Asian games hosted by Qatar in the year 2006 concentrates largely on a particular domain that is Sports Marketing. The effectiveness of team of sports marketing and that of management helps in augmenting the promotional proceedings of the varied sports events taking place within the nation. This in turn also promotes the importance of sports in maintaining activeness of the people within the society. Another very important task of this team of sports marketing is to manage the economical responsibilities, which are related to sports as parts of the country as well as global economy. Initially, they tend to identify those responsibilities and later on assess them minutely to be able to suffice them as per the sports policies of the nation (Fullerton & Merzc, 2008).

Case study approach

Background of the Event: Asian Games 2016

According to the report of ESPN Internet Ventures (2006), the nation famous for its innovative ideas of skyscrapers and oil production had suddenly changed its focus into the fields of sports. The main intention behind altered focus is to bring about an immense level of development in the field of sports. This had started with the hosting of the Asian games in year 2006, where around 10500 officials as well as athletes from all round the world had participated. A total of 39 sports events had been arranged for around 45 nations to compete among themselves in order to position them as the best nation in terms of sports (ESPN Internet Ventures, 2006). The report of RasGas Company Limited (2007) further added that the risk taken by Doha in organizing the Asian Games and that too with such high budgets had enabled the country to keep them encouraged even after the conclusion of the event. To express this fact, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani, HH the Heir Apparent had stated, “We are keen that the flame which we extinguish tonight will continue to glow in our heart” (RasGas Company Limited, 2007). The Heir Apparent did so while handing over the torch to the next host country. The wonderful performance and arrangement of Qatar in planning and executing the event had presented the country with such a position that it had started to plan its moves in the field of sports for the next five years (RasGas Company Limited, 2007).

ESPN Internet Ventures (2006) in its report had also stated that it is mostly evident that the massive events like Asian Games are staged by the economic as well as culturally advanced nations, which were totally proved false after the responsibility was taken by Qatar. Moreover, the arrangement made by the country and amount spent by the government in making the event successful and memorable for years on end was truly unbelievable from the viewpoints of the other nations. This was credibly completed by Qatar with the presence of only 200,000 nationals to organize an event, which was unknown to them completely. RasGas Company Limited (2007) report added to this fact that technologically innovative award given to Ras Gas Qatar just before the advent of the event. This led the company to represent in the Asian Games, as the main concept behind the event. The spirit of that match remains as the legacy for the country and the factor encouraging people therein to sustain in the long run. Moreover, the participation of around 16000 individuals from more than 100 nationalities of Qatar, as volunteers was the largest contributing force behind the success of the event (RasGas Company Limited, 2007).

Effect of the Event on Qatar

According to Nauright (2012), the most prevalent effect of the event on Qatar is considered modernization in different fields, especially in sports. Hence, sports tend to serve the country with an opportunity to promote itself along with its uniqueness into the global scenario. Moreover, the modern approach being implemented in a traditional area of the Arabian nations can also be regarded as another very significant impact that the event of the Asian Games 2006 on Qatar as a nation. All these had become possible only under the leadership of Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani who had supported the nation in creating an effective balance between their traditional values as well as modern approaches of sports and businesses (Nauright, 2012). It has been agreed by Amara (2005), who added that the Gulf nations as a whole are found to be executing sports, as a tool to positioning themselves among the other advanced countries of the world. The sports also act as a balancing agent between the ‘Western Efficiency’ and Arab’s ‘Authentic Culture’, thereby leading the nation towards immense level of development and growth in the long run. Amara (2005) also stated that tremendous amount of attention that media gives to the sports events like Olympics, National Championships, Asian Games, and World Championships among the most high profile ones contributes largely to the promotion of the host nation largely. Although staging such big event might tend to affect the nations’ as well as the global economy negatively, but undoubtedly has a positive influence on the nations’ as well as the world’s economy with its future course of actions (Amara, 2005).

According to Wittkuhn & Reiche (2015) and report of RasGas Company Limited (2007), after the record winning arrangements and performances of Qatar, it had obtained the reputation of being the receiver of the most progressive as well as sustainable reforms in all the domains comprising of society, politics, and economy. In the international level, the nation has received huge success, which no other country had received till then. It has also successfully attained a position, which the advanced countries were envious about and so huge competition started arising in the path of Qatar’s development after the event had turned out to be a great success. Doha as a part of Qatar and most important as a part of the Gulf countries had turned out to be positioned as a ‘Flag-Bearer’ for the rest of the country which could proudly state its association with the same (RasGas Company Limited, 2007). As an addition to these facts, Wittkuhn & Reiche (2015) had stated that the event had also encouraged the nation to continue its journey into the world of sports, thereby transforming itself as a mega-sporting zone. For transforming itself, the nation had largely focused on the social development by constructing buildings, improvising the means of transportations, the transportation networks and by maintaining conditions of the stadiums among the most important ones. The nation had also concentrated largely on maintenance of the ecological perspectives, thereby making its suitable enough for the players to completely focus on their sports eliminating all kinds of hindrances (Wittkuhn&Reiche, 2015). As per the discussion of the impact of the Asian Games 2006 staged in a small city of Qatar, leads to the emergence of a question, “What is the legacy of the 2006 Asian games on the Qatari nation?” The complete discussion of the paper will therefore concentrate largely on analyzing a suitable answer for the same.

Discussion

Economical Responsibilities of the Sports Management

From the above discussions, it is clear that sport acts as a tool, which is powerful enough to build a society comprising of healthy and active mass of people. Therefore, the great amount of focus that the population as well as the government of Qatar puts on sports provides an in-depth understanding of its national strategy. The national strategy of Qatar is to reorganize the nation in such a manner that it will be progressive in all fields starting from the social, environmental to that of economy by the year 2030. Most importantly, complete support of sports will be brings changes within the nation. The first but large step of this strategy was the hosting of the Asian Games, 2006. This had provided the country with explicitly visible outcomes in the field of economic responsibilities, which has been identified and assessed from the viewpoints of Sport Management. This is a very serious matter as far as Qatar is concerned because it lacks population strength to get hold of the sports events (Olympic, 2015).

Qatar tends to identify its economic responsibilities with the help of the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, which seeks to attain a diversified as well as competitive economy for meeting the needs of the society. This also enables the people to live therein secure a better living standard as a part of the legacy left behind for the future generations. Another very important step taken by the government as a part of this QNV 2030 is to bring about an association of the economic responsibilities with that of the social as well as environmental development of the nation. This is also assessed by the Ministry of Finance who provides constant support to sports management team of Qatar in taking up the required responsibilities. They together identify the economic responsibilities and skillfully complete them within the desired time frame by providing economic and financial support to the independent sports teams of the nation in the best way possible (Qatar General Secretariat for Development Planning, 2011).

Conclusion

The complete discussion in the study revolves around the impact of Asian games of 2006, as hosted by the capital city of Doha and the legacy it had left behind for the people of Qatar in the field of sports. The massive economical responsibility that the nation had to undertake for making the event a grand success because of the shortage in work force is a matter to deep insight. The proper identification, assessment, and execution of the plans related to the economic responsibilities of the nation’s sports marketing/managements team is also a credible aspect, which has been discussed in the paper in minute details. Additionally, the paper contributes largely to the effective explanation of the impact that the event and its legacy had on the changes taking place within Qatar on a positive note. The modernization, acceptance of the modern approaches without hampering its traditional concepts along with confidence that the nation has obtained for participating as well as hosting international sports events are also considered to be an impact of the legacy. Moreover, the social development of the nation, renovating it as a sports and tourist hub and urbanizing the entire nation are the most important steps taken by Qatar after the successful completion of the Asian games 2006 with the support of its sports marketing/management team.