BEIJING, Oct 6 – Now that the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris are over, the world’s attention has swiftly shifted to potential bidders for the 2036 Games.
With Los Angeles set to host the Summer Olympics in 2028, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032, the quadrennial sporting extravaganza is likely to return to Asia in 12 years, ChinaDaily reported.
Two populous nations, India and Indonesia, are almost certain to throw their hats into the ring, along with South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, after the International Olympic Committee officially opens the bid.
Egypt and South Africa have also shown interest, and if either of those succeeds, it would be the first time the Games are held on the African continent.
Asian cities that have hosted the Summer Games include Beijing in 2008, Seoul in 1988, and Tokyo in 1964 and again in 2021, after it was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indonesia and India are seen as potentially strong hosts by the IOC due to their large populations and growing economic clout.
India is a strong contender after successfully organizing a series of Group of 20 events across the country last year.
While Narendra Modi’s government is also bidding for the 2030 Youth Olympics, the 2036 Games remain the main focus, Indian Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on the sidelines of the Olympic Council of Asia’s 44th General Assembly meeting in New Delhi on Sept 8.
“It is the dream of India to host the 2036 Olympics, we are making preparations for that,” Modi said in a speech on Aug 15 to mark the nation’s 78th Independence Day.
Mandaviya said strengthening India’s sports infrastructure, including for multisports events, is an ongoing process.
“India can successfully host the 2036 Olympics and it has sufficient infrastructure to host this grand event. Since the announcement came from the PM, the IOA has been duty-bound to fulfill the vision of the PM,” IOA President PT Usha told China Daily.
Swaran Singh, a professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said India is aiming to host the Youth Olympics as well as the 2036 Games to promote sports among Indian youth, and provide them with home support to compete at the international level.
India has a young population, with a median age of 28, he said. “This large aspirational and restive youth can become more disciplined and productive by India supporting sports culture and events of this scale and prestige,” Singh said.
Indonesia, with its rapidly emerging economy and a population of 280 million, is also eager to host the 2036 Olympics.
President Joko Widodo announced in August 2022 that his government would bid for the Games. If successful, the event would be held in Indonesia’s planned new capital Nusantara, which is being carved out of the forest in East Kalimantan Province.
In South Korea, the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, has declared the city’s intention to bid for the 2036 Summer Games, according to local media reports. In an Aug 11 Facebook post titled “Again, the Seoul Olympics”, Oh expressed confidence in the bid, citing advantages such as his country’s “well-established infrastructure and robust public safety measures”, reported the Korean Herald.
If South Korea succeeds in its bid, it will be the second time the country has hosted the sporting extravaganza, after the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
According to the Maeil Business, one of South Korea’s leading financial newspapers, a nationwide survey of 1,000 people by Embrain and Korea Research last month, showed over 70 percent of the respondents were in favor of Seoul hosting the 2036 Games.
Oil-rich Qatar is also reported to be preparing its bid to host the 2036 Games. Qatar is said to be going all out to win the hosting rights — despite failed bids for the 2016, 2020 and 2032 Summer Olympics.
Its neighbor, Saudi Arabia, which will host the 2034 Asian Games and 2034 men’s FIFA soccer World Cup, is also reportedly looking to bid for the Games.
In Paris, Turkiye’s Istanbul also promoted its 2036 Olympic bid, vying to become the first country in the Middle East to host the Games.
“I mostly focus on what the IOC expects, what they dream of, what the world wants to see,” Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told The Associated Press. “Personally, I’m not really interested to know what city is the competitor.”
