Doha has missed out on the opportunity to host the 2020 Olympic Games after failing to make the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) shortlist of candidate cities. 

The IOC rejected bids from Doha and the Azerbaijan capital Baku to host the 2020 Olympics as it cut the list of five applicant cities to a final list of three candidate cities. Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo will now compete for the rights to host the 2020 Games.

The shortlist was announced after the IOC’s executive meeting in Quebec City on 23 May following a technical assessment of the five cities.

It is the second time that Doha, which is already hosting the 2022 World Cup football tournament, has missed out in a bid to host the Olympics after failing to make the final list for the 2016 Games. Doha had been proposing to hold the 2020 Olympics in October rather than the usual July/August in order to avoid the summer heat,

“This is a great disappointment for the Doha team,” said Doha 2020 chief executive Noora al-Mannai. “With so many sports venues already in place and budgeted for, we felt that we offered the IOC great certainty and a low cost Games plan, as well as an exciting legacy vision, especially around developing women’s sport in the Middle East. However, for Doha, it will always be a question of when not if.”

Qatar Olympic Committee general secreatry Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said in a statement: “We will study the IOC report, reflect on its findings and take stock as part of our own reflections regarding our ambition to bring the Games to the Middle East for the first time.”