Dubai has been shortlisted once again for a World’s Ultimate Sports City. Moreover, according to experts, it has a big chance to win the title this year.
The SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards are the internationally recognised and longest established rankings of the world’s top sports hosts and have been held every two years since 2006.
Thirty cities have made the cut for 2014 and will be ranked by SportBusiness’ expert judging panel, all of whom have extensive knowledge of sports events and the destinations that host them.
Representing all the continents in the world, the shortlist – which has been expanded from 25 cities in previous editions in order to recognise the growing number of world class sports hosts – includes some candidates that have featured in the four previous editions between 2006 and 2012, as well as some interesting new entrants.
Dubai was shortlisted to compete for the 2014 Ultimate Sport City Award along with 29 other cities. This is a title given to cities which are popular sports event destinations. They stand out with the environment they offer to athletes, as well as with their ability to host and organize various sports’ events.
Dubai will race side-by-side with cities like New York, Moscow, Madrid, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Melbourne, as well as the previous winner of the title – London. Each of these cities will be examined and assessed across different factors. Among them are sports venues, event strategy, accommodation, transport and infrastructure, security, legacy, marketing abilities.
Even though the shortlist of cities was expanded from 25 to 30, Dubai is seen as one of the favourites along with sports destinations like London and Melbourne. First, that is because of the city’s key location. Second, Dubai traditionally hosts grand events in various sports, including motor racing, golf and tennis.
Also, the city has started to open up to other sports in the recent years. For example, some of its water theme parks now offer favourable conditions for professional surfers. Moreover, they are even considered to be equipped with some of the world’s best wave simulators.
One of the most recent examples of Dubai’s potential as a world-class sports city were the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The event is already seen as one of the best ATP tournaments. In addition, some of tennis’ biggest names participated in it this year, like Novak Djokovic, Serena and Venus Williams, as well as Roger Federer.
Dubai’s Emirates Golf Club, on the other hand, has placed the city among the world’s leading golfing destinations. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Dubai Desert Classic is viewed as one of the world’s top golf tournaments.
This year’s Ultimate Sports City will be announced in April. Of course, many of the other contenders have the advantage of decades of experience in hosting leading sports events. Still, Dubai has proved that it is among today’s fastest growing and developing metropolises. So, chances for the UAE city are definitely looking up.
