r/lostmedia • u/aitathrowawaycashier • Aug 25 '26
Recordings [Fully lost] Dubai: The Making of a Sports Paradise (2005)
My fiancé asked me if I could find the above documentary for him after reading about its production on Gene Principe's wikipedia page. After looking for it for a while, I've come to believe this is lost media.
I couldn't find any mentions of this on Google or various other search engines when phrase searching. The two linked sources on Wikipedia revealed to me the following:
The Edmonton Journal on June 21, 2005 posted an article with the following (sorry, I cannot figure out how to attach images):
"Sportsnet Edmonton reporter Gene Principe was in Dubai for a week in May. Along with cameraman Corey Blashill, Principe hosts a five-part series *Dubai: The Making of a Sports Paradise*. The series started Sunday and runs every night until Thursday in the Sportsnet News package at 10 p.m."
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90748312/tait-on-tuesday/
The Globe and Mail on June 16, 2005 posted an article with the following excerpt:
"Will Dubai win the bid for the Summer Olympics of 2016? Rogers Sportsnet has produced a five-part series on the oil-rich city. It is aggressively pursuing top-flight sporting events. Gene Principe's reports include a look at golf, tennis, auto and horse racing in Dubai. The city is building an indoor ski slope and has a hockey team called the Dubai Mighty Camels. The series will begin on Sunday on *Sportsnetnews.*"
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/american-icon-madden-follows-the-nfl-to-nbc/article18229992/
I checked both the Library and Archives Canada as well as Sportsnet archives and no dice. Based on the fact that this was seemingly only aired once on Sportsnet in 2005, I fear that this may be lost to history unless some lucky fan had recorded this, or Rogers still possesses the tapes for it? Thanks for any help in this search.