Qatar, host of the 15th Asian edition held from December 1 to 15, is gradually dressing up for the sporting event.

Qatar has been preparing for the Games for the past two years. All the infrastructures are now ready for the games. In addition to roads being widened, some buildings are also being redesigned or renovated, while some are being torn down to make room for new ones. The Qataris want to prepare the perfect matches. October 8. The Asian Games Committee launches the start of the Doha Asian Games Torch Relay procession at the Doha Golf Club. The torch will travel through fifteen countries, covering a distance of 55,000 kilometers, or some 30,000 miles, in 55 days, a record for the longest Asian Games torch relay procession in Asian Games history. . The torch will make stops in India, Korea, the Philippines, Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Iran, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. The torch will be carried by around 3,500 torchbearers and will finally culminate its journey when it enters the state-of-the-art Khalifa Stadium on December 1, 2006.

In fact, Qatar, with a budget of 2.8 billion dollars, has been intensively preparing for the Asian Games because the Qatar Olympic Association has another event in its sights: the 2016 Olympics. The Asian Games may determine your chance to host the Olympic Games. For a long time, Qatari leaders have focused on making Qatar the sports capital of the Middle East. The conclusion of the Qatari leaders has been that, with the celebration of the games, Qatar will be able to attract tourists, what they prefer to call “sports tourism”. Qatar expects an increase in tourism from 2009, at the same time that the new Doha airport would be ready.

Qatar also planned to make the most of the sports infrastructure being built for the games. For example, the eleven new state-of-the-art stadiums would be used throughout the year for the soccer league. In addition, the athletes’ village built at a cost of $450 million was to be given to Hamad hospital and provide accommodation and other facilities for the hospital’s nurses and guests. Qatari leaders also want to make the Hamad hospital the main health care center in the region.