Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman, the Qatar Olympic Committee general secretary, described the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to accept the Doha bid for the 2020 Games as "wonderful news for the people of Qatar and the entire Middle East".
Doha, the Qatar capital, is one of six cities competing to host the event in nine years' time.
Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, Istanbul and Baku, Azerbaijan, also submitted bids to the IOC by Friday's deadline.
There were no surprises, as all six cities had previously announced their candidacies.
"To have the opportunity to host the first ever Games in the Middle East will have a profound impact not just on sports development throughout the region, but also in encouraging a greater bridge between the Middle East and the wider international community," Sheikh Saoud said in a statement.
Doha is proposing to hold the Games in September and October, outside the traditional July-August dates, to avoid the blistering summer temperatures in the Gulf country.
All six contenders have made previous bids. Two - Rome and Tokyo - have hosted the Olympics before, Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964.
Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time, while Tokyo, Doha and Baku are making their second successive attempts.
It is Istanbul's fifth overall bid.
The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires.
The six candidates must first submit detailed application files and letters of guarantee to the IOC by February 15, 2012. The IOC executive board will meet in May to decide whether to cut any of the cities and approve a list of finalists.
The final bid dossiers will be submitted in January 2013, followed by visits to the cities by an IOC evaluation commission from February to April.
The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:
What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.
Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.
When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”