"Many tourists will be scared to attend the 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar" says ITV Political Journalist

Aftermath of an Israeli strike on Tehran, Iran.

With the 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar just over a year away. Many fans are concerned that the ongoing war in the middle east could prevent it from going ahead or could negatively impact the tournament. For more on the situation, I spoke to ITV Political Journalist Lewis Denison.

ITV Political Journalist, Lewis Denison.

He said that if the tournament goes ahead due to a meaningful resolution of the war, many basketball fans who have seen images of Qatar's attacks from Iran may be "scared" to attend. Denison noted that safety fears could go beyond 2027 and into the "next 5 to 10 years" and the reputation of Gulf states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE of being "the safest places in the world" due to low crime rates has been harmed. He also added that people's reactions to the risks of going to Qatar will be unique from person to person. Some will trust that a conclusion to the war will mean there are no dangers while some will be "put off for life".

Denison described predicting when the war in the middle east will come to a close as "very difficult" and that the current ceasefire is "very shaky". He said Donald Trump is "suggesting he can get a peace deal signed over the next couple of weeks."

He noted how the tournament could be relocated if the threats of attacks make it 'impossible' for them to host and that world games have a president to relocate as 2026 Commonwealth games moved from Australia to Scotland.

He said a "clean up" will be required before the tournament to deal with strikes on infrastructure, however he was optimistic of Qatar's ability to build infrastructure quickly. He noted that many of the fast moving projects have had accusations of using "slaves" but also added that they are allegations.

Denison said that Iran could potentially refuse to play in Qatar, similarly to how Iran refused to play in the USA for the FIFA World Cup. However, he added that considering Iran had had peaceful relations with Qatar for many years. Also, the way justified the strikes "as attacking areas that have US military where they’ve launched their strikes from". Leads Denison to believe they would attend. He sees it as a potential mediation opportunity for Qatar, who have been trying to de-escalate relations since the war started.

The ITV journalist said it would be unlikely for FIBA to bar any of the involved nations in the war. He sees FIBA as likely to follow in FIFA's footsteps with the football World Cup and have no bans.

On potential protests, Denison said: "It’s hard to say. Possibly in the UK, but there will be no protests in Qatar, for example, or Iran. They’re not the type of countries that allow protest. But I’d say it's quite likely that we’d see protests in London, more likely to protest for or against Iran or Israel rather than America, I would say."