Dubai: Great Britain's greatest Olympian, Sir Steve Redgrave, has touted the UAE as being the first Middle East nation in successfully bidding for an Olympic Games.
"The main thing would be to try and understand what exactly the IOC [International Olympic Committee] wants. As a nation, you need to gauge the mood of the IOC and for this, you need to be a visionary to ensure that sport is supported and enhanced at the same time," Redgrave told top officials from the various sports associations and federations from the UAE at the Leadership Centre here yesterday.
"I sincerely hope you do bid for an Olympic Games here as an event like this would be fantastic for the entire region," he added.
Redgrave is in the UAE to highlight ‘500 Days to Go' on the journey to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympics Games. During his two-day stay here, Redgrave was also scheduled to meet top officials from the Dubai Sports Council and members from the tourism and investment sectors.
Accompanied by UK Consul General Guy Warrington, Redgrave addressed presidents and vice-presidents from various UAE sports associations and federations before proceeding to the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) for a test drive on a Victory Team boat poised alongside a traditional wooden dhow.
"We have been directed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai to bid for the Olympics.
"We have been working on the bid process, but we don't know when we will be bidding to host the Games," UAE National Olympic Committee official Abdul Rahman Falaknaz told the audience.
"I think this place ought to be the first to bid or else it will be a long, long time before the Olympic Games return to the region," Redgrave observed.
However, Redgrave — one of only four Olympians to have won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games — threw in a few words of caution to be exercised while preparing a solid bid for an Olympic Games.
"You need the government on board and you need the backing of the people on the promise that you will leave behind a solid legacy for the future," Redgrave said.
Among the early sportspersons involved in the bidding process for London 2012, Redgrave recalled how they had a tough time either getting then London Mayor Ken Livingstone on board to back them or for that matter getting the support from a Tony Blair-led Labour government.
