Dubai takes pride in being a premier global sporting hub, and rightly so.
And the reputation comes not just from the grandeur of the tournaments hosted or the facilities on offer, but also from leveraging sports to promote public health.
The Dubai Fitness Challenge — the line-up includes the Dubai Run, Dubai Ride, Dubai Stand Up Paddle, Dubai Yoga, along with three Fitness Villages, 30 Fitness Hubs and several events, classes and activities — is a flagship community programme Dubai has been hosting since 2017. The month-long event — being held from November 1 to 30 this year — challenges people to perform 30 minutes of exercise daily for 30 days (30×30).
Sporting nexus
Hosting mega competitions is a major role Dubai plays in the cricketing ecosystem. Apart from staging the willow game’s mega tournaments like the T20 World Cup (men’s in 2021 and women’s in 2024), Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, and IPL, the City of Extravagance regularly rolls out the red carpet for big-ticket events like the DP World Tour Championship Golf, Dubai Desert Classic Golf, Dubai Duty Free Open Tennis, and Dubai World Cup (horse racing).
Such sporting showpieces deserve state-of-the-art venues, which the City of Gold has in plenty — Dubai International Cricket Stadium (called the Ring of Fire), Dubai Sports City, Meydan Racecourse, Dubai Autodrome, Coca-Cola Arena, Emirates Golf Club and Jumeirah Golf Estates.
“Sport is a fundamental pillar of Dubai’s vision for a vibrant and cohesive society. It promotes well-being, brings people together and inspires progress,” Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who chairs the Dubai Sports Council, said in a statement while presenting the Dubai Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2033 in the second week of November.
Dubai’s gameplan is simple and solid: be the ultimate destination where champions are watched, future champions are forged, and fitness is a way of life.
(The writer was in Dubai at the invitation of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism).