India enters race for 2036 Olympic Games

NEW DELHI: India has formally entered the race to become the host nation for the 2036 Olympics, submitting an "expression of interest" to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold sport's biggest global event 12 years from now.

- Avishek Roy

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) made the formal submission last month to IOC's Future Host Commission (FHC), which oversees interest in future Games, according to multiple officials aware of the matter.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in India in 2036 has taken a significant step forward. The Indian Olympic Association has formally sent a Letter of Intent to the Future Host Commission, International Olympic Committee on 1 October 2024 expressing India's interest to host the Olympics and Paralympics Games in 2036," a senior official in the Union sports ministry said on Tuesday.

"This monumental opportunity could bring substantial benefits, fostering economic growth, social progress and youth empowerment across the country," the official added.

To be sure, this is just the beginning of a long process involving deliberations at several stages between FHC and IOA before IOC awards the hosting rights, and will pit India against several other countries that have either already entered the fray or are likely to throw their hat in the ring for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. India has not named any host city, as the process requires such details to be mentioned at a later stage. But the twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are among the places tipped to be put forward as candidates.

Indonesia, Turkey and Chile have already submitted their official letters of intent to host the 2036 Games, while Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea, Egypt, Hungary, Denmark and Canada have expressed interest.

India's ambition has been clear for a while now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi first spoke about the country's push to host the Olympics at the IOC Session in Mumbai in October last year.