
Chilean president Gabriel Boric last week underlined his nation’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics as he welcomed home medalists from the Paris 2024 Games.
Skeet shooting gold medalist Francisca Crovetto and wresting silver medalist Yasmani Acosta were honored on the balcony at La Moneda Palace in Santiago when the president confirmed his intentions to bid for the next available Summer edition.
“After the tremendous success of the Pan American and Parapan American Games [in 2023], we set ourselves a dream, perhaps crazy, but beautiful and one in which all of Chilean society can unite, which is to apply for the 2036 Olympic Games,” the president said according to a translation from local media.
Chile’s Olympic dream was inspired by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach who visited the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games last October. At the end of his four day stay, Bach praised the event and told organizers “my advice would be that once we finish these Games successfully, they should begin to set the next goal.”
“And among them could be the Olympic Games or other events of this nature.”
He had arrived directly from a high level IOC Session in Mumbai where he also encouraged India’s intention to bid for the 2036 Olympics, setting the stage for a competitive race.
Several nations involved in the IOC’s continuous dialogue bid phase sent delegates to Paris 2024 to learn from the event and lobby some of the many stakeholders attending the Games.
In Paris Chilean Minister of Sport Jaime Pizarro and Chilean Olympic Committee president Miguel Ángel Mujica attended a meeting with IOC’s Future Host Commission chair Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to discuss the bid. During continuous dialogue, the IOC opens discussions for any available future Games, but Chilean officials made it clear they were targeting 2036.
“We have had a very good conversation, reviewing different aspects, where they have told us which paths must be taken in this process. We have agreed on the path marked for future actions,” said Pizarro after the meeting.
“It has been a very fruitful event, in which we have been able to hear what the IOC expects from the organizers of the Olympic Games, and in which we have been able to share our experience of Santiago 2023 and how it has strengthened us as an organizer of major international sporting events.”
Chile has never bid to host the Olympic Games. South America has only hosted the event once, with Rio 2016.
The IOC does not disclose nations that are currently involved in continuous dialogue but some jurisdictions have already discussed intentions for 2036 publicly. These include Istanbul in Türkiye, India, Egypt, Cape Town in South Africa and Seoul in South Korea. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are known to be interested as well but no formal announcements have been made.
Germany, Poland and United Kingdom have shown interest in bidding for the 2040 edition.
There is no set deadline for the awarding of the Games, but one or more qualified candidates could be selected as early as next year.