Exciting events which should come to Dubai

luxury shopping destination, Dubai is a city that has also hosted some of the world's most high profile and exclusive cultural and sporting events, with everything from film and fashion festivals to rugby and world-famous tennis series being played in this part of the United Arab Emirates.

The amount of tourists visiting Dubai has been steadily increasing year on year, with just under 15 million visitors in 2016 and almost 16 million visitors in 2018. The revenue produced by tourists is expected to continue growing a reach an impressive sum of almost $28 billion American dollars by 2030. This makes Dubai one of the most visited city destinations worldwide, behind Bangkok in Thailand, London in England and Paris in France.

The city of Dubai already has much to offer to tourists, with a number of exciting destinations including the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall and the Dubai Marina, to name just a few. However, now that this city has become known around the world, many have suggested that it could play host to world famous sporting and cultural events.

Here are just a few that Dubai is yet to host:

The FIFA Football World Cup

It has been suggested that the city of Dubai could play host or co-host for the FIFA Football World Cup for a number of years now. FIFA has proposed the expansion of the 2022 tournament from 32 to 48 teams, an increase which would put a significant amount of pressure on the host state, Qatar, who won the bid to host the game in two years' time. This is because an additional four stadiums would be required if FIFA go ahead with the proposed 48 team format.

Hosting some of the FIFA World Cup games would be an excellent opportunity for the UAE to showcase itself as a top visitor destination. However, with tensions between governments existing between countries on this continent, it remains to be seen if politics and sports can be separated.

Nevertheless, many believe that hosting the football World Cup could do wonders for diplomatic relations in the region and bring attention to the excellent infrastructure that already exists in the city of Dubai.

Some consider the country's hot climate to be an issue for hosting a game that is so physically taxing for its players, however FIFA have been willing to adapt to this in the past by hosting games during the country's cooler months.

Formula One Grand Prix

While Abu Dhabi has had the chance to host the world famous Formula One Grand Prix, Dubai is still waiting for its opportunity. This city is known for its fast supercars, with the police force regularly seen driving Bugatti's and Ferraris.

During the turn of the 21st century it was rumoured that Dubai would be the first of the Persian Gulf countries to host a grand prix, but for a number of reasons they were pipped to the post, first by Bahrain, who became the first venue for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the region, and then by its neighbour Abu Dhabi.

The Dubai Autodrome, on the outskirts of the city, would be an excellent venue to host this prestigious event. This impressive track, which is 5.4 km in length as played host to a number of high profile events, including the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup and the European Touring Car Championship. It has also played host to the A1 GP and the GP2 Asia, alongside the annual GT 24 hours race.

Dubai Autodrome is located less than 25 minutes from central Dubai and was built with the purpose of hosting competitions with huge numbers of visitors and large crowds.

World Series of Poker

Known for its luxury and glamour, Dubai would make an excellent host city for the World Series of Poker.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held each year for the world's best professional poker players. WSOP features 74 different poker events and covers a huge range of poker games and their different variants. The tournament has existed since the early 1970's and is growing in terms of audience numbers and participants year on year.

While all forms of gambling, including playing poker, are currently not allowed in the United Arab Emirates, it is possible that exceptions could be made for such a prestigious event.

World champion boxing events

Dubai would also make the perfect host for world championship boxing events. The city is already set to host the 2020 World Karate Federation championships.

The city has already shown its commitment to the sport with a number of boxing gyms, including The Champion Club, Round 10 Boxing and Underdogboxn. With some many great facilities for athletes to train and perform at, it is surprising that so few events have been held in the UAE.   

These are just a few world famous sporting and cultural events that could be hosted in this glamorous and wealthy city. As its infrastructure and world class facilities continue to develop even further, we can expect Dubai to play host to many great tournaments and competitions in the near future.