INDIA MAKES A BIG PITCH FOR 2036

AS THE COUNTRY BIDS TO HOST THE WORLD'S GREATEST SPORTING EVENT IN GUJARAT, HERE IS WHAT THE STATE MUST DO

- By JUMANA SHAH

THE OLYMPICS ARE VERY MUCH ON GUJARAT'S MIND. YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE FRENETIC ACTIVITY at the 650-acre Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave coming up on the banks of the Sabarmati, in Ahmedabad's Motera area. Olympic rings made of colour-appropriate flowers were the main attraction at the annual flower show in Ahmedabad this January. A more permanent steel and cement symbol has come up outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in the city.

Never mind that it will take another year for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide who will host the 2036 event. India submitted a letter of intent (LoI) in October 2024. Though it did not specify any location, sources in Gandhinagar say a majority of the events will be hosted in Gujarat, and a few in Goa, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. There is no ambivalence about where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held: at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium.

Though the Games are 11 years away, India’s enormous population, rapid economic growth and lack of previous hosting experience make it a strong contender. “Hosting the Olympics is the dream of 140 crore Indians, it is their aspiration,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared in his August 2024 Independence Day speech. The buzz in bureaucratic circles in the PM’s home state had begun as early as 2021, the intent also made an appearance in the BJP manifesto for the 2022 assembly election.

WHAT IT WILL TAKE

For a country to host the Olympics, the IOC mandates conducive geopolitical, socio-economic, human development and environmental factors; political will, a masterplan of the vision and its alignment with long-term development sports, accommodation and transport facilities; sports events experience, and safety and security, among other things.