India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games hit further milestones this week – seemingly entering a full sprint towards the finish – despite International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry last week ordering a pause and full review to the site selection process.
A large, high-level Indian delegation led by Gujarat Sports Minister Harsh Sanghvi and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha traveled IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland Monday to engage in the IOC’s so-called ‘continuous dialogue’, an early step taken by regions vying to host a future Olympics. The trip was arranged before former IOC president Thomas Bach handed over leadership to Coventry on June 23 and moved forward even after the new president asked her members to “pause and reflect” and set up a working group to study the bid process.
For the first time in Lausanne the delegation named former Gujarat capital Ahmedabad, home of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the nominated host city. Home of the world’s largest cricket stadium named after Modi, Ahmedabad has long been preparing for the bid and started developing an Olympic masterplan two years ago.
On Tuesday Modi’s cabinet approved the Khelo Bharat Niti, a national sport policy intended to launch the nation into a new era of sport excellence. It replaces a 2001 policy and focuses on five pillars, the first that emphasizes “Excellence on the Global Stage” that could be achieved through better integration between sport and education and improved infrastructure. Modi has been targeting these goals since his election in 2014 has also been pursuing the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2030 Youth Olympic Games.
But the IOC’s pause could delay the process for several months, and the findings from the working group could further extend the date of the next host election as the timing of such votes is now under scrutiny according to the president. Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 were elected 11 years ahead of their scheduled opening ceremonies, but both have reportedly encountered challenges with the long lead times. Previously the Games had been awarded only seven years in advance.
Now 11 years until 2036, India has been pushing forward and was widely considered a frontrunner in the process that has received interest from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Nusantara in Indonesia, Santiago in Chile, South Africa, Egypt and North Jeolla, South Korea. European contenders include Germany, Istanbul, Budapest, Barcelona and Madrid.
Following bid reforms that were introduced in 2019 IOC members have been left out of most of the decision-making surrounding Olympic bids. The Executive Board and the IOC president instead nominated a single candidate for the IOC Session to approve and most of the process was shrouded in secrecy. India has strong ties with the Coventry and could be invaluable to the Olympic Movement with respect to sponsorships and revenue growth connected to the world’s most populous nation, and an Executive-led election could favor the nation’s bid.
Now Coventry has asked the working group to review member involvement in the process and that may help level the playing field.
India has never hosted the Olympic Games.
