The coming weeks will see a number of international sports events taking place at Expo 2020 Dubai, under the organisation and supervision of Dubai Sports Council, with leading international sports stars competing in front of audiences at the first World Expo ever hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council, said: “At Expo 2020 Dubai, elite specialists from all fields of life have gathered to present their vision for the future of the world, and to present their nation’s rich culture and heritage, and to promote its industries and tourism.

“The Expo 2020 Dubai is ‘connecting minds’ from every realm of life to ‘create the future’, and it is no different in sports. The Expo has brought together world champions and decision-makers from around the globe to compete as well as to discuss the present and future of sports in the world.

“Expo 2020 Dubai is an interlinked event with a diverse program, and Dubai Sports Council have organised and supported a number of events at the Expo since it started on October 1, 2021. These events are a reflection of the support that sports receives from our wise leadership.

“Visitors to the Expo have been able to meet and greet top sports stars and legends, and witness intense competition in the many international sports competition that have taken place there, while members of our sports-loving community have been able to participate in unique community sports events that take place in Expo 2020 Dubai on a weekly basis.

“Thousands of our sports-loving community members will be back in Expo 2020 Dubai on Saturday, January 22, alongside hundreds of visitors from overseas, to take part in the Expo 2020 Dubai Run 2, which is being staged a second time because of popular demand.

“Next month, on February 25, Expo 2020 Dubai will become the focal point of the cycling world as the sixth stage of the 2022 UAE Tour – the one and only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East – starts and finishes at the Expo. We will see 140 cyclists representing 20 international teams in action during the Expo 2020 Dubai Stage and the 180km route will take the cyclists across Dubai, touching locations like Dubai Sports City, Silicon Oasis Meydan Racecourse, Palm Jumeirah and the Jumeirah Islands, and showcasing landmarks like Ain Dubai and Museum of the Future.

“The Expo 2020 Dubai Stage of the UAE Tour, of course, will not be the end of our calendar of top international events at Expo 2020 Dubai. Dubai Sports Council is working with organisers from inside and outside the country to bring more sports events and tournaments at the Expo, and further details about these events will be revealed in time.”

Expo 2020 Dubai had hosted the Giro d’Italia Criterium, an exciting 30 lap short-format cycle race that brought some of the world’s top riders to Dubai on November 6, as well as the FIDE World Chess Championship 2021, that saw world champion Magnus Carlsen beat challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi to retain his crown.

The Expo had also hosted the presentation ceremony of the 11^th Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award on January 9, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Patron of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, and His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.

A number of Arab Olympic and Paralympic were present at the ceremony to receive their awards, alongside the most creative Emirati athletes and sports administrators, as well as top decision-makers and administrative officials from different international, Arab and Emirati sports federations.

His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed had also met Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football association UEFA, at Expo 2020 Dubai, while Gianni Infantino, President of international football federation FIFA, and Fatma Samoura, Secretary General of FIFA, have visited the Expo more than once.

Expo 2020 Dubai has also hosted exhibition football matches, featuring some of the sport’s biggest names as well as young emerging talents. Argentina ace Lionel Messi has also visited the Expo 2020 Dubai headquarters, and so has Robert Lewandowski, winner of the 2021 FIFA Best Men’s Player, who met his fans at Al Wasl Plaza a day after participating in the 16^th Dubai International Sports Conference and winning two Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.

Fans of Olympic sports, and track and field in particular, had the opportunity to run alongside Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt at an event in Expo 2020 Dubai, while basketball fans had the pleasure of watching the famed Harlem Globetrotters in action.

Many other top names from the world of sports have visited the Expo, including football caches Pep Guardiola and Roberto Mancini, and British boxer Anthony Joshua, as well as the likes of football stars Paolo Maldini and Salomon Kalou.