Explained: India’s consideration for bidding in 2036 Olympics and what it means

Representational image. AP

Anurag Thakur, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of India, had recently stated that India were ‘seriously considering’ a bid for hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. Although India have hosted multi-sport events like the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the Asian Games before, it has never hosted an edition of the Olympics till date.

“If India is making news in every sector, from manufacturing to services, then why not in the field of sports?”, Thakur was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

“India is looking very seriously at bidding for the 2036 Olympics,” the sports minister added.

The hosts for the next three editions of the Summer Olympics have been decided — Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.

A report in news agency Reuters said that there were preliminary discussions with 10 cities but a timeframe on awarding the hosting rights for the 2036 edition is yet to be decided.

The report also adds that South Korea, Qatar and Indonesia were also contenders to host the 2036 Games. Qatar had recently hosted the FIFA World Cup that concluded on 18 December.

So what will India need in order to win an Olympic hosting bid? We explain:

Top-class infrastructure

India had hosted the National Games in Gujarat between 29 September and 12 October successfully, but plans for a mega sports complex in Gujarat had been reported in April this year.

A report in the Hindustan Times in April had stated that the government of Gujarat had begun engaging with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with regards to potentially hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, and that committee members were expected to visit the complex in 2025.

Fast forward to eight months later, sports minister Anurag Thakur remained confident of India potentially hosting the Games in 14 years’ time.

However, there are several challenges that come along with hosting an Olympic Games.

Over the years, there have been criticism from both ends, the bidding nations and the hosting nation, regarding the ever-increasing costs of the Olympic Games, something that could hamper the country’s economy.

The Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 saw an estimated cost of $13 billion. That ended up as one of the most expensive Games’ ever. Rio Olympics in 2016 is another event that exceeded the organising committee’s estimated cost of $2.8 billion, with the total cost after the event going upto $20 billion.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games was hosted in Delhi, and the official total budget of that was an estimated $1.4 billion, but after the event, the total cost rose up to a whopping $8.8 billion.

But the cost is not the only problem. India is a country which is known to be synonymous with one sport: Cricket. Cricket is like a religion when it comes to India, and in Olympics, there are multiple disciplines with over 28 sports, and that could pose a major challenge. And the cost for the sports complex in Ahmedabad is said to be Rs 4,600 crore ($576 million)

Building up from grassroots level

In Tokyo last year, India produced its best-ever finish at an Olympics, with seven medals in total (1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze). This included a historic Neeraj Chopra gold medal in javelin throw, but despite India’s showing in Japan, their primary aim would be on winning medals in multiple events, and more importantly setting a double-figure mark as far as total medals were concerned. And for that to happen, it is paramount that the development and investments happen from a grassroots level.

How is an Olympic bid winner picked?

The winners of the hosting rights of Olympics is announced by the members of the IOC during their meeting at the Session. The Olympic hosting bid winners are usually announced seven to 11 years prior to the event. Electing the hosts for an Olympic Games is one of the powers of the Session.

A host city is elected by the majority of votes cast by a secret ballot.

“An IOC member must refrain from taking part in a vote when the vote concerns an Olympic Games host election in which a city or any other public authority in the country of which he is a national is a candidate.

“The honorary members, honour members and suspended members are not allowed to vote. If a majority is not achieved in the first round of voting, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and a further round or rounds of voting are held until a majority is obtained by one candidate,” the IOC states in the official website of the Olympics.

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