Hot property

With Formula One revelation Lewis Hamilton finding it increasingly difficult to lead a normal life in Britain, he may soon be looking to settle down elsewhere to escape the media frenzy (and the taxman).

The current F1 championship leader could follow in the footsteps of several international sports stars who have chosen to settle in Dubai in recent years - a trend that is likely to become increasingly popular with the completion of developments such as Dubai Sports City.

Hamilton has indicated he has no plans to leave just yet, but might consider it in the future and while many of his predecessors in F1 have opted for Monaco or Switzerland or even the Isle of Man, Dubai's weather, tax concessions and paradisiacal image are all factors likely to put it right up there with the small European nations.

Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson, Danish golfer Thomas Bjorn and British snooker star Peter Ebdon are just some of the sportsmen who have recognised this, having chosen the UAE as their base.

Former Indian Davis Cup tennis player Zeeshan Ali has done the same and having set up the Match Point Academy at the Ritz-Carlton, he now also coaches the UAE Davis Cup team. Another tennis player who calls Dubai home is former world junior number one Kristian Pless from Denmark.

For Ebdon in particular, it's a decision he hasn't regretted for a second.

"It was more of a lifestyle choice than anything else," the former world champion told Gulf News. "It was a fabulous opportunity for our four children to grow up in a wonderful environment. I was just saying to my eldest daughter how exciting it is what's happening in Dubai and what an incredible place it is to be living.

"The education standards are extremely high and on the weekends you can go from the beach to the ski slope so we are very pleased with the decision to move here," added Ebdon, who relocated to Dubai in 2005.

Love at first sight

For Stenson, it was a case of love at first sight. "I played the Desert Classic my first time in 2001 and fell in love with Dubai at once. The combination of many different cultures and great sunshine makes it a fun and practical place to live as a golf professional," Stenson told Gulf News, adding that the only downside of the city is: "As we all know, traffic is not great."

Other than that, he has no complaints, however. "To be able to compete at a high level I want to have great conditions for practice and play and Dubai gives me that. That I have played at Emirates Golf Club that many times of course helped me to capture this year's Dubai Desert Classic," added Stenson.

Meanwhile, professionally, moving to the city has meant Ebdon has had to make a few changes to his schedule, but it is something he is more than willing to do. "It has meant a bit more travelling for me because I do all my preparation for tournaments in the UK, but I have had two pretty good seasons since moving here so it has worked out pretty well so far."

Ebdon said the only drawback of the move, when it comes to his sport, is the lack of players with whom he can practice. "There are two players here who are very good, Mohammad Shehab and Mohammad Al Joker, and they have achieved an amazing standard without having many other players to practice with, which is a credit to them and their hard work," he was quick to add.

"The good thing about Dubai is that it is a nice place to practice in the winter," reckoned Pless, who travels 35-40 weeks of the year on the ATP Tour, but moved from Monaco to Dubai when his parents moved to the city three years ago.

"It is on the way to Australia from Europe so it makes it easier to handle the time difference," added the tennis player, who said the only drawback at present is the heat. "Just as the weather is great for tennis in the winter, then it is also way too hot in the summer. I hope one day someone will build some indoor courts so we can also go practice there in the summer.

More to follow

"I have told a few other players about Dubai. I know that Ivan Ljubicic and also Rainer Schuettler have bought apartments there, but I think they are still waiting for the workers to finish them. I don't know if they intend to live there at some point.

"I had the same benefits in Monte Carlo, but I prefer Dubai because it is a much more exciting city with much more life," said Pless

Stenson has also recommended the city to some of his friends. "Some of my Swedish colleagues, Johan Edfors and Joakim Haeggman [also top European Tour golfers], also joined me in having Dubai as a base. It is always hard to see into the future, but I will stay here at least for many years to come."

Having such stars settling in the UAE could certainly pay dividends for sport in the Middle East. In fact, Ebdon has made it his mission to put something back into the region.

"I don't think snooker is as popular here as it was 15 years ago, but I would love to help revive the professional rankings tournament here in Dubai. I think it would go down an absolute storm and would be very popular. And just one successful tournament here could kick start a mini Middle East tour and create a huge amount of interest.

"Since moving here I feel a big obligation to be a good ambassador for Dubai," he added.

It seems the acquisition of such sports stars can only do the UAE sport scene good, even if they do only spend a few months of the year here.