HONG KONG (Xinhua) - 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.
Although in the early stages, the competition is expected to be intense. 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.
While the eagerness to host the Games indicates the rising Olympic awareness and growing sporting ethos in these countries, it also gives the winning bidder a chance to boost its economy and international standing, experts said.
“Many in the IOC think it’s time for an Asian country to step up to host the Olympics again as the Olympics is supposed to represent the world,” said James Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania in Australia.
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.
The process to select the host city is complex, with multiple rounds, Chin said, so it is hard to predict the result at this early stage. But the consensus leans toward an Asian city being chosen to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, he added.
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’s National Olympic Committee and the Indian Olympic Association, or IOA, have started talks with the IOC’s Future Host Commission, which deals with the host selection process. The dialogue is the first step toward bidding for the right to host the Games.
“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.