Sport is very popular in Dubai. International sporting stars and teams are flown in regularly to compete in glamour friendlies as well as major sporting events, with lucrative prize money. The city is developing the world's first dedicated Sport City as part of the US$18 billion Dubailand project, and there are rumours it will bid for the 2016 Olympics.

Other grand sporting projects currently developed include the new Dubai Cricket Stadium and the Dubai Ski Resort - real snow in the middle of the Arabian desert!

Golf
Dubai is the pioneer of golf in the Middle East with championship standard grass courses to challenge the skills of even the most experienced players. Dubai boasts a wide range of world class golf courses, featuring excellent facilities. All Golf Courses are 5 to 10 minutes from Dubai Center, with the exception of Abu Dhabi 40 minutes.

Horse Racing
The Dubai World Cup is a thoroughbred horse race event held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, 10 minutes away from the city centre of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race was the creation of Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, emir of Dubai, who owns Darley Stud, one of the world's leading thoroughbred breeding and racing operations. It is the world's richest horse race, with a purse of USD 6 million since 2004.

Tennis
The Dubai Open Tennis Championship regularly attracts top stars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Roger Federer and Jennifer Capriati. There are a number of tennis clubs that are open to the public.

Camel Racing
Camel-racing, a traditional sport, is extremely popular in the Emirates. It was originally staged in an informal setting, at weddings or special festivals, but now customized tracks have been built throughout the country where race meetings are held in the winter months from October to April, culminating in the annual camel race festival at Al Wathba which attracts entrants from all over the world.

Water Sports
With naturally clear water and high temperatures all year round, Dubai is a centre for water sports par excellence, and is the perfect spot for any activity, from scuba diving to game fishing and other water games like Snorkeling and scuba diving, Yachting, Water-skiing, Jet-skiing, Windsurfing, Game fishing etc.