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Doha to host Asian Games 2030
The rights to host the Asian Games 2030 has went to Doha, while Riyadh will host the 2034 edition after a voting marred by technical issues was followed by some mutual agreements between the two sides.
Riyadh clinched the rights for the Games in 2034, after the executive board meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCS) unanimously agreed to the proposal of naming the runner-up in the race for 2030 as the host for the 2034 Games.
“I can now announce... that the city who had the highest vote and will host 2030 in Doha.The second hosting city, for 2034, is Riyadh,” said OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.
The rights to host the 2030 games in Doha means that Qatar will host two major sporting events in a span of eight years as they even have the rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
𝟐𝟎𝟑𝟎 Asian Games - Doha, Qatar 🇶🇦
𝟐𝟎𝟑𝟒 Asian Games - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Our heartiest congratulations to both countries & their Olympic committees on being the host nation of the 21st & 22nd Asian Games. 👏#AsianGames #AsianGames2030 #Doha2030 #Riyadh2034 pic.twitter.com/yusX85ODkz
— Olympic Council of Asia (@AsianGamesOCA) December 16, 2020
The voting was delayed for hours after it was marred by technical glitches with even a tab named ‘learn ethical hacking’ popping up in the screen, leading to fears of manipulation in votes.
“I apologise for the technical problem we are facing during our voting. Today the difficult things have been solved and the easy things have been problems. I will be glad to have two games in west Asia, to be honest,” said the OCA president.
While 26 countries present in the meeting at Muscat voted through physical ballot, 19 countries casted their votes online. Out of the total 45 votes, 27 went to Doha, 10 to Riyadh while the remaining eight abstained from voting.
