Dubai’s youth wants a home bid for FIFA World Cup

|By Arabian Post Staff| Young people in the UAE have revealed what they want for, and from, the future of major events in an international study launched ahead of the Host Cities 2015 summit.

It finds young people in Dubai are most confident globally in their city’s readiness to host a major event and will overwhelmingly back a ‘home bid’ – with the FIFA World Cup their first choice. 92% of young people in the UAE want to see more established major events expand into emerging markets and new territories.

The ‘Next Generation Events’ report identifies the top ten trends for the future of events, drawing on YouGov research into the behaviours and attitudes of more than 2,000 young men and women, across 10 countries.

The report also points to huge growth in mass participation events, extreme sports, and the convergence of sport and entertainment – with culture and music festivals revolving around traditional sporting occasions. Game-changing technology will radically alter how young people engage with events – and vice versa – and keeping pace with innovation will be vital to an event’s success. Yet nothing will ever beat the ‘live’ experience.

Demand for extreme sports events is particularly high in Dubai, with 81% wanting more (78% in UAE and 66% global average). In the home of Skydive Dubai – hosts of next month’s FAI World Air Games 2015 – one in four want to see skydiving made an Olympic sport. Skateboarding gets the global vote, a sport currently being considered for inclusion at Tokyo 2020.

Asked to name a major event, Expo 2020 Dubai is top of mind for most young people in the UAE. It is five years until the United Arab Emirates (UAE) welcomes the World Expo, one of the largest and most enduring events in the global calendar, in a first for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. With Expo 2020 Dubai expected to attract 25 million visits, 57% of young people in Dubai believe hosting major events can boost tourism.