Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Dubai World Cup is jewel in the UAE’s $2.4bn sports sector

By Andy Sambidge
Horse, jockey Reuters/Caren Firouz
The Dubai World Cup is held at the 80,000-capacity Meydan Racecourse
  • Emirate’s horse racing event is being held this Saturday
  • More than 100 top sports events held in Dubai during 2022
  • Events include World Golf Championship and World Tennis League 

The Dubai World Cup, arguably the emirate’s biggest event of the year, takes place on Saturday as the city aims to grow its $2.4 billion sports sector.

The Meydan Racecourse is set to play host to the 27th edition of the meeting, bringing together the world’s best racehorses, jockeys and trainers.

This year’s event is being held during the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in its history.

The prestigious $12 million race and its equally coveted $6 million undercard are expected to draw a huge crowd at the 80,000-capacity venue.

A total of 78 international and 51 Emirati horses from 13 countries, including those from the fabled Godolphin stable, will be contesting for honours.

Established in 1996, the Dubai World Cup further reinforces the city’s rising status as one of the globe’s leading venues for international sporting events which last year contributed 2.3 percent of the city’s GDP.

Sheikh Rashed bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Racing Club, said: “Dubai’s exceptional infrastructure for horse racing events, combined with its world-class hospitality and deeply-rooted traditions in horse riding, make it an exceptional venue for a global tournament of the scale of the Dubai World Cup. 

“With its vital role in supporting the growth of the horse racing world, Dubai continues to be a major focal point for the global equestrian fraternity.”

The nine-race card in total offers $30.5 million in prize money, with the Dubai World Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airline, as its finale, while the $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic is the main supporting race.

  • horse, jockey
Country Grammer, ridden by Frankie Dettori, netted the main $12 million prize last year. Picture: Reuters/Christopher Pike

The Meydan Racecourse features a 1,750m dirt surface and a 2,400m turf course, making it the world’s longest horseracing track, said Sheikh Rashed.

“Further, with the world’s first five-star trackside hotel and largest grandstand spanning half a mile, the racecourse provides one of the most spectacular settings for global horse racing tournaments.”

The Meydan showpiece is the pinnacle of a sports sector that has significantly grown in recent years, with more than 100 international events held during 2022.

According to research from Dubai Sports Council, 103 international events and championships were led by the World Padel Championship, Dubai World Golf Championship and the World Tennis League.

  • Field, Adult, Male
Rory McElroy has played at the Dubai World Golf Championship and Novak Djokovic at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Pictures: Reuters/Brian Snyder/Amr Alfiky

The city also hosted two events in the World Beach Volleyball Championship, the 11th Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup and the Dubai Super Cup, which featured Premier League giants Liverpool and Arsenal, AC Milan and Lyon. 

The number of companies registered in the field of sports events and training camps increased to 700, while sports academies also rose to 400. 

A total of 165 local events were held with participation of 1.77 million people covering 200 nationalities and in the presence of 220,000 fans, boosting the sports tourism sector.

More than one female-only sporting event was held per week last year along with 31 esports competitions. 

A further 12 sports conferences and exhibitions, including the 17th Dubai International Sports Conference and the Globe Soccer Awards, were held.

Latest articles

The SPA report highlighted a number of metrics as being on target, including home ownership of 53.7 percent

Third of Vision 2030 projects ‘completed’ government says

One third of 1,064 planned projects have been completed so far under the Vision 2030 economic transformation plan, the Saudi government said in its annual progress report on the reform programme.   The report also said 561 initiatives were on track, according to the state-owned Saudi Press Agency, publishing its major findings. It was not […]

Tawfik Alzaidi

Saudi director’s labour of love takes the kingdom to Cannes

For the first time a Saudi film has been selected to compete in the Cannes film festival, catapulting its little-known self-taught director into the limelight. Tawfik Alzaidi was so surprised that he’d managed to break through to the big time that he kept the news that his film Norah had been accepted for the ‘Un […]

Migrants attempting to reach Italy from Tunisia. About 270,000 so-called irregular migrants arrived in the EU via sea crossings last year

EU reveals total aid to North Africa to combat migration 

The European Union provided €673 million ($718 million) in funding to four North African countries from 2021-23 to help the quartet reduce what it calls irregular migration to the 27-member bloc, official data shows. Last year about 270,000 “irregular migrants” arrived in the EU via sea crossings, 64 percent more than in 2022. Crossings from […]

Joby Aviation's CEO JoeBen Bevirt (2nd left) at the signing of a multilateral agreement with the three Abu Dhabi government departments

Abu Dhabi signs multiple deals to launch air taxi services in 2025

A commute from Abu Dhabi to Dubai could take only 30 minutes next year, with the introduction of air taxi services significantly slashing travel time between the emirates. The electric aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation signed agreements this week with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport, Department of Economic Development and Department of Culture and […]