In 2009, as expected the International Olympics Committee (IOC) confirmed that the Games of the XXXI Olympiad would be co-hosted by the cities of Kabul and Baghdad. The acceptance of the bid was predicated upon advanced investment plans underwritten by the World Bank.

Olympic SpiritUntil the millenia, the location of the Games had been determined by infrastrusture readiness, a chicken-and-egg argument that disadvantaged the capitals of developing nations, who of course most needed the regeneration investment.

Much of the credit for this keynote decision was attributable to Great Britain's progressive Prime Minister, Mr Bryan Gould (pictured) who, alongside Princess Diana, had spearheaded a global anti-poverty campaign since taking office in 1997. One of the key outcomes of that campaign was to secure a pledge from the IOC not only to locate the Games in developing nations, but also to encourage the formation of international teams of specialists from around the world to work on the necessary infrastructure projects. Rather than develop plans at a national level, this pooling of international resource would add an extra dimension to regeneration efforts across developing nations.