Gulf Games: Hosting the Olympics in the GCC

With the Beijing Games fresh on their minds, aspiring cities across the globe feel increased enthusiasm to play host one day to the Olympic Games. A natural question on the minds of Gulf leaders and observers will be if – and when – a Gulf city will host the Olympics and capture the world’s attention as raptly as Beijing has. While GCC cities certainly have some of the elements needed to host the Games, Gulf leaders will need to reflect carefully on whether hosting the Olympics truly fits with their overall development strategies.