2036 Olympics: Roadblock for India! IOC President puts host selection on pause

India’s aspirations of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games have hit a temporary roadblock, with newly-elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry announcing a pause in the selection process for future hosts.

Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe and the first woman and African to lead the IOC, made the announcement on Thursday during an online press conference after her maiden executive board meeting in Lausanne. “There was an overwhelming support from the IOC members for a pause to be done and a review of the future host election process and we will be setting up a working group to look into this,” the 41-year-old said. A decision on awarding the 2036 Games, which was initially expected next year, will now be delayed as the IOC reconsiders its timeline and process for selecting host cities. Coventry cited the need for broader member engagement and a strategic reassessment of the timeline. “Firstly, members want to be engaged more in the process and secondly there was a very big discussion on when should the next host be awarded,” she said, as quoted by PTI.

The IOC executive board emphasized the importance of learning from the experiences of upcoming hosts such as Los Angeles (2028 Summer Games), Brisbane (2032 Summer Games), and the French Alps (2030 Winter Games), all of which had varied timelines and challenges in their bids.

“There was a lot of discussion on when is the appropriate time to elect a future host. And also how we should be selecting a future host,” she added. India had submitted a Letter of Intent for the 2036 Games in October 2023. A high-level delegation led by Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao is expected to visit Lausanne next month for informal discussions. Coventry confirmed that the visit will go ahead.

“We want all interested parties to be a part of this pause and reflect and of this review… They might be the first interested party for us to ask a couple of questions and to better understand from them,” she noted. She also acknowledged a glaring lack of representation from the Global South in past Olympic host selections. “I think the Global South, in terms of host cities, is not really represented at all. But my job is to ensure that policies are in place to allow anyone who has the ability to host the Games,” Coventry concluded.