Egypt , that spot inhabited by Egyptians since the early beginning of history, lies in the centre of the world. It has been a geographical and cultural crossing-point for ages. The Heart of the Middle East and North Africa, an integral part of the massive African
continent, Egypt enjoys a unique geographical location, a favourable climate, a rich history and an incredible cultural heritage manifested in the Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic monuments.
People have been coming to for many thousands of years, for it is all things to all people. By their very nature, the Egyptian people have always been known for their love, tolerance, cordiality and hospitality and thus has been a natural sanctuary for those who sought refuge from persecution.
Egypt also plays an important role in cultural, intellectual and political fields in the Arab region. It always seeks for stability, peace and development in the Arab world and plays a major role in creating peace and fraternity among people worldwide.
At it’s heart, where historically Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt meet at the confluence of the River Nile and the Nile delta, is it’s bustling capital of 17.2 million, Cairo. The largest city in the Arab world, Cairo is a beacon to the region and an important player throughout modern world history. Egypt is a safe country that will ensure the safest stay for its guests in addition to a friendly and ever-welcoming people. Now it wishes to demonstrate its friendship and striving for universal
fraternity by inviting the youth of the world to celebrate the Summer Olympic Games of the Year 2016 in the City of the Ages - Cairo!
Egypt has a great history of
participating in international tournament sporting events. Egypt was the first
African country to participate in the Olympics in 1912, at the Stockholm
Olympics. Egypt has also participated in two FIFA World Cup tournaments in 1934 and 1990.
Greek-Egyptian businessman George Avaraoff was an influential figure in the organisation of some of the earliest modern Olympic Games, and helped spearhead attempts by Alexandria to host the Summer Games of the years 1916 and 1920. Cairo spearheaded Egypt’s next Summer Games bid, for the games of 2008.
Egypt is experienced in organizing international and regional tournaments and championships, such as the Mediterranean games in 1951 and the African All Games tournament in 1991 and the PanArab Games of 2007. Moreover, Egypt has had the honor of
organizing four African Nations Cups in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006. From Egypt’s first participation in 1912 till 2004, Egypt won a total of 21 medals in the Summer Olympics. Of the 21 medals, 7 were gold medals, 6 silver medals and 8 bronze medals. Egypt participated only once in the winter games. The two leading events for Egypt have been wrestling and weightlifting. In wrestling, the foremost wrestlers have been Ibrahim Moustafa, Ibrahim Orabi, Karam Ibrahim, Abdel Rashid and Ali Hassan. Ibrahim Moustafa won the first gold medal for Egypt in the Greco-Roman Light Heavyweight category in 1928. Karam Ibrahim. won the medal in the Greco-Roman 96kg category in the most recent Olympics held in 2004. Egypt’s major share of medals comes in the weightlifting event. The Egyptian weightlifters have won a total of 5 gold medals in the event..
Egypt lies in the dry equatorial region except its northern areas, including Cairo, located within the moderate warm region with a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean region. It is warm and dry in the summer and moderate with limited rainfall increasing at the coast in winter. Cairo 20-16 proposes holding the games from September 30 to October 9, when the heat of summer in Cairo gives way to the cooler climes of Spring/Winter with average day and nighttime temperatures of 25 and 17 respectively.
Egypt has a variety of hotels and restaurants that enable it to host a large number of sports fans and spectators, as it generally receives over 5 million tourists each year.
In September 2007, the Egyptian Tourism Ministry noted that the nation had 183,000 rooms with more than 130,000 rooms under construction. Amr El-Ezabi, head of the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) said: “As many as 665 new hotels are in the pipeline to host 16 million visitors annually by 2014 — almost double the 2004 numbers.� Cairo alone in 2001 boasted more than 20 five star hotels, which collectively averaged more than 80% occupancy rates.
By virtue of an advanced communication system, Egypt provides easy nationwide and
overseas communications including reliable internet, cell phone and satellite services. A full, High-Definition Ready International Broadcasting Centre will be built for the use of the
Host broadcaster Rights Holders next to the main Olympic Park at El Nasr.
It is easy to travel to Egypt due to its highly sophisticated network of international and national airlines. Internally, Egypt enjoys the finest network of domestic airlines,
highways and railways. Cairo International Airport is the major civilian airport in Cairo. It is the primary hub for Egypt Air. It is located to the northeast of Cairo, about 15 km from the downtown area and 10km from the central Olympic Precinct. In 2006, the airport served 10,778,097 passengers (+5.5% vs. 2005). It is the second busiest airport in Africa. In Cairo itself, the Cairo Metro in Egypt is Africa's only full-fledged metro system. The system currently consists of two operational lines, with a third Line currently under construction. Four more lines are proposed — with Line 3 (green) from Imbaba / Mohandessin to Abbasiya, and eventually to Cairo International Airport at Heliopolis. Line 4 ito go from the southwest at Al Ahram to the east at El Nasr; Line 5 is planned as a half-circular line connecting all the other lines, from Nasr City to Port Said Street and Shubra El Kheima; and Line 6 is to be a north-south line from Shubra to Maadi. Cairo’s notoriously crowded and chaotic road traffic will be rigorously and mercilessly restricted and regulated during he duration of the games period.
With many of the venues and infrastructures in place already, organisers predict costs of renovations to existing structures and construction of those new venues required will be
$US1.5 billion. The Government of Egypt will undertake to underwrite any expenses to be incurred, though will also actively seek private sector partners to aid in up to 65 per cent of
fundraising. Revenues from ticketing, sponsorships, rights and merchandising is estimated at $1.6 billion.
A series of International Monetary Fund arrangements, coupled with massive external debt relief resulting from Egypt's participation in the Gulf War coalition, helped Egypt improve its macroeconomic performance during the 1990s. Through sound fiscal and monetary policies, the Government of Egypt has tamed inflation, slashed budget deficits, and built up foreign reserves. Organisers believe it is a sound fiscal position to carry out its commitments towards staging the games.
Tickets will be issued to Egyptian and international buyers from mid-2015 via a cascading ballot system. Allocations of cheap ticketing will be set aside for poorer Egyptians.
Within Cairo city itself, organisers plan to hold all events within two main clusters, spanning a straight line from east-to-west. This ``Olympic Path of Re'' will duplicate the daily progress of the Ancient Egyptian Sun God as he rose each morning on the east bank of the Nile, traversed the heavens and descended each evening on the Nile's west bank to continue his journey through the underworld. The bulk of these events, will be held within a single main cluster at El Nasr, which will be designated the chief Olympic Park.
El Nasr Cluster/Olympic Park With the Cairo International Stadium, which will hold the ceremonies and athletics events, as its centrepiece, the El Nasr cluster will form the focal point of the 2016 Olympic Games. The precinct, located conveniently 10km from Cairo International Airport on the way to the the city centre, has already gained experience in staging large international events including the 1991 All-Africa Games,
the 2007 Pan-Arab Games and the Africa Cup of Nations football tournaments in 1974, 1986 and 2006. The 74,100 seat multi-purpose Cairo Stadium is known for its tremendous atmosphere and its very large capacity. Until recently the largest stadium in Africa, it was refurbished to 21st century standard for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. For the 2016 Games, it will again get a facelift, raising permanent
capacity to 85,000, with an additional 15,000 temporary seats for the games and the erection of covered roofing to protect spectators from the Egyptian sun. A practice and training track already exists next door to the stadium.
Also next door to the stadium is the Cairo Covered Stadium complex, built in 1991 and comprising four covered halls. The largest, at 20,000 seats, is one of the largest covered halls in the world and has hosted such events as the finals of the Handball Youth World Cup in 1993. In 2016 it will hold the Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastic competitions. The adjoining 3000-seat hall will be expanded to 5000 seating and host Rhythmic Gymnastics as well as Badminton and Fencing finals (preliminaries will be held in one of the other covered halls, expanded from 1000 to 2000 seats), while the final covered all will be expanded from 1000 to 3000 seats for Table Tennis and Taekwando. The adjacent open air swimming complex, currently comprising an Olympic swimming and diving pool, will be expanded with a warm-up pool, and existing seating will be temporarily expanded to 12000 for the Olympic Games, with shaded awnings for spectators. After the games, these will form a vitally needed public swimming complex for Cairenes. Water Polo will be held in another nearby pool, with seating expanded to 5000 for spectators. The neighbouring 30ha Cairo International Convention Centre, featuring stunning architecture and tranquil gardens, will be configured to hold several indoor sports. The 15,000sqm main exhibition hall will be divided in
two, providing two 6000 seat halls to stage Weightlifting in one and Wrestling and Judo in the other. Wrestling and Weightlifting are particularly dear to Egyptian hearts. The centre's three auditoriums will also be expanded _ the largest, the Cheops Auditorium, will have its capacity extended by another third level to seat 5000 (current 2500) for the Boxing competition. A new, 15,000sqm exhibition hall will be constructed alongside the existing ones to provide a 12000 seat auditorium for Basketball and a 7000 seater for the Handball competition. The 6000sqm Hall 4 of the CICC, completed in 2004, will house 12,000 temporary seats for the Indoor Volleyball competition. Also to be constructed will be a 5000, open air velodrome, to serve the needs of the track cycling competition. Mountain biking will be staged in the rocky terrain around the historic Citadel area, providing a historic backdrop of some of the city's finest Islamic monuments. The El Nasr cluster will also be adjacent to the planned Olympic Village, as well as the main Press Centre and Host Broadcaster areas.
Giza Cluster
In the shadow of the country's famed Pyramids and Sphinx, the Giza plateau region will form the second satellite hub of venues for Cairo 2016. All venues here will make stunning use of their location to provide a spectacular backdrop to competition for spectators on the ground or viewing television coverage around the world. The premium event in the area, using a 12000 seat temporary stadium, will be the Beach Volleyball stadium, as well as the city’s famed glassed Squash courts which have been used and won applause in the Squash World
Championships. Giza is the home to many stables catering to tourists wanting to visit the Pharoanic sites in the area on horseback. The organisers, with the assistance of the Egyptian government, plan to consolidate these into a large Giza International Equestrian Complex serving the needs of the games, while providing a riding centre for tourists in the years after. Cross country equestrian events will be held around the Pyramids region over terrain including both desert and greened areas. Archery will be staged in the shadow of the Sphinx, using seating currently used by the area's renowned nightly sound and light show. Finally, a shooting centre will be established nearby, completing the Giza cluster of venues. Giza will also be the site for the start of the major road events of the games, such as the road cycling and the marathon, which will begin at the Pyramids, wind through modern and medieval Cairo and finish at the El Nasr main stadium.
Nile Cluster
A small cluster if venues, catering primarily for flat water events, will be established on the River Nile, running through the centre of the city, and historically the lifeblood of the Egyptian nation from antiquity through to today. While organisers admit the river suffers from pollution problems at present, modern membrane technology will be installed at points across the river to the south of El Gezirah island, forming a course for flatwater canoeing, kayaking and rowing. Temporary seating for 10,000 (4000 post-games) will be constructed on the banks of the Nile on El Gezirah island. As well, a White Water centre will be built on the Island, on the site of the El Gezirah Sports Club, to stage the Slalom Canoe and Kayak events.
Outside Cairo
The principal location outside of Cairo for 2016 will be the historic and picturesque harbour city of Alexandria, which strived to host the games itself in the early 20th century. An Olympic Marina will be constructed in partnership wth private enterprise and the tourist sector on the seaside to cater for Sailing events on the Mediterranean Sea. Located on the historic Alexandria Corniche, the marina will be available for post-games use by private owners and the tourism market. Because of concerns about water quality in the Nile at Cairo, long distance swimming events will also take place in the Mediterranean Sea off the beaches of Alexandria, as will Triathlon, which will include land portions along the Corniche.
Alexandria’s 80,000 seat Borg el Arab Stadium, built in 2006, will also host preliminary and pool matches in the Olympic Football tournament, as will the 60,000 seat O.A. Osman Stadium in Cairo, and the 45,000 seat Suez Canal Stadium in Suez .
Cairo 2016 Sports and Facilities Venues Sport
Venue
Capacity (now) Capacity (2016)Notes
Swimming
Olympic Swimming
2500
12000
Centre (El Nasr) Diving
Olympic Swimming
Open Air with Awnings 7000 temporary seats
2500
5000
Open Air with Awnings
2500
5000
Open Air with Awnings
1000
5000
Open Air with Awnings
4000
6000
Existing tourist
Centre (El Nasr) Synchronised
Olympic Swimming
Swimming
Centre (El Nasr)
Water Polo
Olympic Water Polo Pool (El Nasr)
Archery
Giza Sound and Light (Giza)
Athetics
Cairo International
facility 74,100
100,000
Stadium (El Nasr) Badminton
Covered Stadium
85,000 permanent seats post-2016
3000
5000
_
12000
Hall 2 (El Nasr) Basketball
Cairo International Convention Centre
New convention hall Covered
(CICC) Canoe/Kayak
Nile Boating
(flatwater)
Course (El Gezirah)
Canoe/Kayak
El Gezirah Sports
(slalom)
Club
Cycling (track)
Cairo Velodrome
_
10000
post-2016 _
8000
Giza International
_
5000
Covered Stadium
_
12000
Borg El Arab
3000
5000
80000
80000
60000
60000
Stadium (Alexandria) O.A. Osman Stadium (Cairo)
Consolidatd Giza stables
Hall 2 Football
New open air velodrome
Equestrian Centre Fencing
New white water Leisure centre
(El Nasr) Equestrian
4000 seats
Suez Canal
45000
45000
74,00
100,000
20000
20000
3000
5000
20000
20000
Stadium (Suez) Cairo International
Final match
Stadium (El Nasr) Gymnastics
Covered Stadium
(Artistic)
Hall 1 (El Nasr)
Gymnatics
Covered Stadium
(Rhythmic)
Hall 2 (El Nasr)
Gymnastics
Covered Stadium
(Trampoline)
Hall 1 (El Nasr)
Handball
CICC
_
7000
New convention hall
Hockey
Cairo Hockey
_
8000/
Two new fields
Centre (El Nasr) Judo
CICC Main Hall
5000 _
6000
(El Nasr) Rowing
Temporary seating in Existing facility
Nile Boating Course _
10000
(El Gezirah) Sailing
Alexandria Marina
_
_
(Alexandria) Shooting
Giza Shooting
New marine sports Tourism facility
_
3000
New facility
1000
3000
_
10000
New facility
_
4000
Beachside road/sea
Centre (Giza) Table Tennis
Covered Stadium Hall 3 (El Nasr)
Tennis
Cairo Tennis Centre (El Nasr)
Triathlon
Alexandria
course Volleyball
CICC Hall 4
-
12000
(El Nasr) Beach Volleyball
The Great Sphinx
Temporary seating in Existing facility
_
12000
Temporary facility
_
6000
Temporary seating in
(Giza) Weightlifting
CICC Main Hall (El Nasr)
Existing facility
Wrestling
CICC (Main Hall
-
6000
(El Nasr) Boxing
CICC Cheops
Existing facility 2500
5000
Auditorium Covered Stadium
1000
3000
Squash
Giza Sqyash Cube
_
6000
(Giza) El Nasr
New level added
Taekwando
Olympic Village
Temporary eating in
Temporary facility used in past events
-
14000
Existing adjacent Military Barracks To be torn down And redeveloped as Athlete’s village. To be recommissioned As Military Barracks Post-2016
The people of Egypt and Cairo eagerly await your verdict on our plans. We vow to stage a great games in a setting of both ancient grandeur, historical splendour and modern sophistication, style, convenience and technology in the year 2016. Help us bring the Olympic games, and its unique spirit of internationalism, peace and friendship to the birthplace of human civilisation!