Rise of New Mega-Cities (Round 1): Sporting Giants – Doha and Sochi

Cities are becoming an increasingly prominent within the world and we are quickly becoming an urbanised global society, but there is no single pattern for urban development. There are currently 31 mega-cities within the world; most of which are old historic cities that have become the core of their respective nations, including New York, London, Paris and Istanbul. These are all historic cities and, with the exception of New York, have ancient roots.

However, alongside these great cities (often known as global cities, a definition which measures a city’s economic, social and political clout) are those at the centre of the world’s most populous countries, such as Beijing, Mumbai, Cairo, Mexico City and Tehran and their centrality within large and powerful nations has rooted their names in global conscience.

But with no single pattern for development there are alternative urban centres. Despite the many cities that have impressed the world through their sheer size or strength of character there are always growing cities that compete for global recognition. It is a fact of society that although some cities, like London or Istanbul, endure most undergo periods of growth and decline, and new cities will rise and often transcend their nation to become global centres.

I want to explore a couple of these new cities that are coming up to unsettle the current global order.

Doha, Qatar

If there is any city in the world to show what the next decade may look like it is Doha in Qatar. Qatar’s capital is firmly establishing its position as a regional and global city through a series of investments and events that appear to have mapped out the city’s development for the next decade. In the Middle East there are few of the mega-cities that characterise China, India, South America or Africa and instead cities have developed as highly concentrated economic and political centres. In the last decade Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E. have been the dominant cities of the Gulf and Doha has aggressively pursued ways to break the monopoly of these Gulf cities and these attempts are starting to pay off.

Doha has stolen much of the attention away from these two urban giants in recent times. It has used its incredible wealth, generated through fossil fuels, to build the city up as a global centre for business. It is already a global centre for the oil and gas industries and strives to add international finance, travel and aviation (it is the centre of Qatar Airways), real estate and tourism to its commercial interests. Through diversification Doha is ensuring that is has a future beyond oil and gas, and although many others in Arabia are doing the same, few are creating such as strong legacy as in Doha.

New skyscrapers, such as the Aspire and Dubai Towers, punctuate the skyline and artificial islands grow in the Gulf, creating a city that mirrors the growth of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Like these other Gulf cities, 50 years ago they were global backwaters, but with oil revenues they grew in a way unmatched by any other modern cities. However if Qatar is developing in the same way as Dubai or Abu Dhabi then how could it eclipse these cities? The answer lies in the events that Doha will host propelling it way beyond those in the U.A.E.

Qatar bid for and won rights to the 2022 Football World Cup and, with Doha accounting for roughly 60% of Qatar’s population, it will naturally form the centrepiece of this international sporting spectacle. Doha is plowing money into projects in preparation for the tournament and when the world moves away from Rio de Janeiro and Brazil (who are hosting both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics) global attention will move to the Middle East. Qatar is establishing itself as the region’s sporting centre and has already become a centre for tennis and Moto GP (and eyeing a foray into the high-profile world of Formula 1, a sport that hugely benefited its rival Abu Dhabi). In addition, despite two failed bids for the Olympics, analysts have predicted that Doha will, in the near future, join the elite group of Olympic cities and host sport’s greatest spectacle. Qatar does not benefit from the history that nations, such as the UK, France of even America can boast of, and few can discuss Qatari culture in the same way as, for example, Brazilian or Turkish culture, can be discussed. Qatar is very much a part of the wider Arab/Gulf culture and thus in pursuit of developing a unique and independent cultural identity, sport has been seen as becoming critical to Qatar and, in particular Doha.

Doha’s growth over the next decade has been predicted to be phenomenal. It will see tourism grow dramatically, become a financial and business centre, fill its skyline with glittering monuments to modernity and achieve all the glory of a city of sport and culture. This capital it set to become the city of the Gulf and an urban centre with few regional rivals.

(Above: Doha’s Skyscrapers Punctuate the Sky)

Sochi, Russia

Sochi is a small city by Russian standards. Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are the real centres of Russian society and business. It is in these cities that the great political figures of Russian history governed the world largest nation and it was from these cities that Russia’s economic growth and vast wealth has been orchestrated. Sochi, by comparison, is only 52nd in terms of population and therefore for many it still regarded a regional backwater.

However, this small city is currently one of the most talked about cities in Russia and its role in the creation of the ‘new Russia’ will make it one of the most important cities to get to know. Its growth is not unlike that of Doha, Qatar; it is a city within an energy giant behind it; whose great revenues from fossil fuels have stimulated investment in the city to turn it into a centre for sport.

Sochi achieved something Doha could not and has become an Olympic city, ready to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Its successful bid for this sporting event has pushed the city right into the global conscience and huge sums of money have been invested in infrastructure projects, such as the Sochi Light Metro, new international sporting arenas, new power plants and a winter sports resort complex; all of which will leave a lasting legacy for Sochi.

But to truly capitalise on this event, which often leaves empty shells and unfulfilled legacy promises, Sochi has had to do more and gain even more prestige. To achieve this it sought to host the first Russian Grand Prix of the modern era and in 2014 the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi will be added to the Championship’s calendar. The combination of Formula 1 and the Olympics are predicted to cement Sochi’s role as a city of sport and, like Doha, tourism and business will develop off the back of these events.

But maybe it is tourism that made Sochi the Russian city of choice for the government in the first place. Sochi sits on the Black Sea coast and its good climate and seaside location made it the unofficial summer capital of the Russian government in past decades. It has become the country’s largest resort city and the Russians clearly have ambitions to make Sochi a rival to resort centres in Bulgaria and maybe even an urban centre to anchor the Eastern Black Sea, mirroring Istanbul’s position in anchoring the Western Black Sea.

But can Sochi compete with a mega-city? In terms of population Sochi is far off the power and gravitas that Moscow or Istanbul has, but it could become a cultural centre for the Black Sea region. A sports and tourist hub that will continue to develop its power and influence over Southern Russia, a nation that certainly has the size and resources to handle another great city.

(Above: The Site of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Formula 1 Track)

The Power of Culture

Sport, culture and the focus of global media can be a powerful combination in the creation of new centres of power. Growing cities have always sought recognition in the style achieved by Doha and Sochi; safe in the knowledge that through hosting such events they can transform the future of their city. Investment and international interest stimulate business and tourism and infrastructure gets established that should draw people back, again and again. Sochi and Doha will hope that their moments of glory will cement their regional roles as cultural, economic and social centres which can function both as international hubs and as regional leaders.

By Peter Banham

See Also:

Rise of New Mega-Cities (Round 2): Capitals of Development – Brasilia and Hanoi

Sport: An Important Political Tool in World Affairs

With the London Olympics only a week away, much of the attention is on the political importance of this sporting event for international relations. Sport has often been an outlet for expressing political views, settling scores and renewing bonds and world events, such as the Olympics are the biggest forum for global politics.

The London Olympics, like many events before it, has been made a political issue focusing in particular on the participation of Middle Eastern states, whose political structure has been heavily scrutinized by the international political scene.  In particular nations, such as Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Libya have all come under close scrutiny and criticism from international players forcing Britain to respond accordingly.

Following the civil war in Libya many believed that it would be unable to put together a team to compete at London 2012, especially as the former head of the Libyan Olympic Committee was a son of Colonel Gaddafi and fled to Algeria following the Civil War. However even though Libya has put forward a small team to compete they continue to face difficulties as the new head of the Libyan Olympic Committee was abducted this week.

Saudi Arabia has seen the London Olympics being used as a forum to discuss the role of women in Saudi society and there has been an intense media focus on the decision to send, for the first time, female athletes to London 2012.

For Syria and Bahrain, however much attention is not on whether the nations could produce a team and in what form the team would be, but rather whether the team or officials should be allowed to take part in the events. For Syria the decision has been taken that any officials subject to an EU ban on travel, as a result of internal conflict, will not be allowed to attend the events, although the team itself can compete and this has been supported by the international community. However Bahrain has proved to be one of the biggest controversies. Prince Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa is the President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and for many, both in Britain and internationally, his involvement in London 2012 is seen as an endorsement of the actions of the Bahrain government, which has been accused of violence, repression and torture. Many have threatened action if the Prince arrives in London and political tensions over his continued involvement remain very high.

London 2012 is by no means the first Olympic games to deal with controversial political decisions. Beijing 2008 was marred by Free Tibet protests and activists who protested against China’s human rights record and attacked TV presenter, Konnie Huq, whilst she carried the Olympic torch in London. Many Olympics, particularly those in developing nations or with controversial regimes, have seen great protest by activists who resent these states being gifted such a prestigious event. Most famously, however, it was the 1980 and 1984 Olympics which highlighted the role of politics in sports.

The 1980 Summer Olympics was held in Moscow, then the capital of the USSR. This was a move rejected by officials in the USA and many other Western countries, including West Germany, Japan and Canada, who ultimately boycotted the event in protest at the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan. This move by Western nations was replicated in 1984 by communist nations, led by the USSR, when the Olympics was held in Los Angeles.

However the Olympics, although one of the largest sporting events, is not the only sporting occasion in which nations play out global issues. Tours by national teams have often been used as a symbol of cross-border friendship and co-operation. Most notably this has been seen in tours by the national cricket teams of Pakistan and India, countries that have a difficult history. They have often used sport as a way to soften relations between the two presenting a forum to settle scores between the two states, without resorting to violence or military action. Following the Mumbai bombings in 2008, in which Pakistan was accused of involvement, sporting ties were cut between the two, however in recent weeks, details of a tour by the Pakistan team in India have emerged illustrating a thawing in relations.

Sport has also come under fire for its ability to over involve itself in political affairs, as was highlighted in 2012 with the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, when the decision was made to go ahead with the race despite calls from within Bahrain and from around the world to cancel the event in light of the crackdown, implemented by the government, on protestors. By undertaking this action Formula 1 opened itself up to criticism from international commentators and accusations that the people in charge believed sport transcended politics.

Clearly the role of sport in international politics is huge. It can be used both to encourage relations between two nations and to bring nations together on a global scale to participate in something greater than national politics, as the Olympics aims to do. Sport is intrinsically linked with politics; with participation being used as a bargaining chip and governing bodies coming under attack when the political actions of sport differ from the political actions of nations they represented or are involved with.

By Peter Banham