India were formally announced as one of the seven bidders to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday. India has long been seen as one of the favored candidate in a hosting contest the IOC aims to decide in 2029 by a contested vote of its 100-plus members.
India has long been talking about hosting the Summer in 2036. The IOC also published a 30-page document on Tuesday to guide bidders over the next two and half years when key decisions will be taken by the Coventry-chaired IOC executive board.
Its 15 members include NBA great Pau Gasol representing athletes. The country is already hosting the 2030 in Ahmedabad. The IOC set an October 31 deadline for late arrivals to the contest. India’s bid plan centers on the city of Ahmedabad.
The key date is in March, the IOC said, when the board will approve a shortlist of candidates to develop detailed projects. The 2029 target date for a contested vote is a return to the IOC’s previous long-time schedule and process to pick Summer Games hosts.
The invited group in the exclusive IOC membership club includes sports officials, current and retired athletes, members of royal families, politicians including former heads of states, business leaders and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
South Korea – Seoul
The South Korean bid would be anchored in Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Summer Games, and spread across the country. In fact, it was the 1988 Olympics that brought South Korea in the international stage. Not just the Seoul Olympics, South Korea later held the 2018 Winter Olympics, thus presenting itself as one of the strong candidates to host the 2036 Games.
Qatar – Doha
Qatar has hosted world championships in most top-tier Olympic sports, including 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was won by Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Its bid could yet expand from Doha to send some events to Gulf neighbors. A Qatar-hosted Olympics should require the Summer Games to move to later in the year from the July-August slot it has occupied at each edition from 2004 in Athens through 2032 in Brisbane.
For the unknown, Doha has previously contested the hosting rights for the 2016 (rejected at applicant stage) and 2020 (did not make the final group of candidate cities) Summer Olympics, but failed to reach the final stage of either selection process. Since then, Qatar expanded its CV with multiple high-profile events – 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2023 AFC Asian Cup, 2024 World Aquatics Championships and the upcoming 2030 Asian Games.
Germany – Munich
Munich is no longer a new entrant into Olympics, having hosted biggest event on the earth in 1972. However, in the last 44 years, a lot has changed. The 2036 Olympics would also fall exactly 100 years since the Berlin Games. Munich was elected as Germany’s candidate for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Games after Berlin withdrew its proposal and Hamburg was rejected in a referendum.
South Africa
Just like India, South Africa wants to become the first country in Africa to host the Olympics. The Rainbow nation’s major event record includes 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The football World Cup in 2010 demonstrated the country’s ability to stage a global event across multiple venues and cities. South Africa’s bid shapes to be national and centered on Cape Town.
Turkiye – Istanbul
Istanbul will be looking to be sixth time lucky after five unsuccessful attempts. The Turkiye capital had earlier bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2020. In fact, Istanbul came very close in getting the hosting rights, reaching the final vote, but finished behind Tokyo. The 2020 Games were postponed for a year in 2021 due to COVID.
Hungary – Budapest
Just like Istanbul, Hungary is looking to host the Summer for the first time after failed bids in 1916, 1920, 1936 and 1960. Hungary showed interest bin hosting the 2024 Olympics but withdrew in 2017 after the Momentum Movement, which gathered approximately 266,000 signatures demanding a referendum on the proposal. In recent times, Hungary hosted 2017 and 2022 World Aquatics Championships and the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
