India, Qatar and South Africa are among seven countries to have formally expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) preparing to begin the process of narrowing down the contenders.
Germany, Hungary, Turkey and South Korea complete the current list of interested nations, although the field could expand before the October 31 deadline for additional countries to declare their intentions.
The IOC Executive Board is expected to draw up a shortlist in March 2027, after which the selected candidates will enter a dialogue process with the Olympic body.
Potential hosts will be assessed on several factors, including their ability to provide the necessary funding as well as political and public support for staging the Games.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the selection process would ultimately be guided by the experience of athletes.
“Wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do,” Coventry said.
She added that providing athletes with the best possible experience should be the starting point for every prospective host.
India is seeking to stage the Olympics for the first time, with Ahmedabad in Gujarat identified as the centrepiece of its bid. The city is scheduled to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, an event expected to serve as an important test of its ability to stage a major multi-sport competition.
Ahmedabad is also home to the world’s largest cricket stadium, highlighting India’s ambition to use its sporting infrastructure as part of its Olympic bid.
South Africa, meanwhile, has experience hosting major international sporting events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 1995 Rugby World Cup, but has never hosted an Olympic Games.
Qatar is another country with recent experience of hosting a major global sporting event after staging the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, an Olympic Games in the Gulf nation would likely require a departure from the traditional July-August schedule because of extreme summer temperatures.
Germany’s bid is centred on Munich, which was selected by the country’s National Olympic Committee last month. A Munich Games would come 100 years after the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics, held under Nazi Germany.
Turkey is also returning to the bidding process after Istanbul finished second to Tokyo in the race to host the 2020 Olympics.
The next editions of the Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032, leaving the 2036 Games as the next opportunity for the shortlisted nations to secure the right to host the world’s biggest sporting event.
