The 2036 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXVI Olympiad, is an upcoming international multi-sport event.
Bidding process
The new IOC bidding process was approved at the 134th IOC Session on 24 June 2019 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The key proposals, driven by the relevant recommendations from Olympic Agenda 2020, are:[1][2]
Establish a permanent, ongoing dialogue to explore and create interest among cities/regions/countries and National Olympic Committees for any Olympic event
Create two Future Host Commissions (Summer and Winter Games) to oversee interest in future Olympic events and report to the IOC executive board
Give the IOC Session more influence by having non-executive board members form part of the Future Host Commissions.
The IOC also modified the Olympic Charter to increase its flexibility by removing the date of election from 7 years before the games and changing the host as a city from a single city/region/country to multiple cities, regions, or countries.
The change in the bidding process was criticised by members of the German bid as "incomprehensible" and hard to surpass "in terms of non-transparency".[3]
Future host summer commissions
The full composition of the summer commissions, to oversee interested hosts, or with potential hosts, where the IOC may want to create interest, is as follows:[4]
Future Host Summer Commissions for the 2036 Summer Olympics
According to Future Host Commission terms of reference with rules of conduct, the new IOC bidding system is divided into 2 dialogue stages are:[5]
Continuous Dialogue: Non-committal discussions between the IOC and Interested Parties (City/Region/Country/NOC interested in hosting) concerning hosting future Olympic events.
Targeted Dialogue: Targeted discussions with one or more Interested Parties (called Preferred Host(s)), as instructed by the IOC Executive Board.
On 1 July 2021, the Committee chief of the Indonesian Olympic Committee announced that Indonesia would bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics after they failed to secure the 2032 edition, which were awarded to Brisbane. The Committee chief Raja Sapta Oktohari said, "We will not back down and will continue to fight for the 2036 Olympics," promising more solid preparation. Indonesia previously hosted the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.[6] On 3 August 2022, President Joko Widodo announced plans to hold the 2036 Olympics in Nusantara, the new capital city of Indonesia.[7] Jokowi later reaffirmed his country's efforts in November of the same year. On 16 November 2022, he confirmed that they would bid with the new capital Nusantara, which is under construction.[8]
On 30 March 2024, while speaking with Antara, the Indonesian Olympic Committee president, Raja Sapta Oktohari [id] stated that the committee is still engaged in dialogue with the IOC, and that an observing delegation would visit the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and additionally monitor the preparations of the 2028 Summer Olympics organizing committee.[9]
In October 2024, it was reported that the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dito Ariotedjo, claimed that Indonesia had received an offer to host the 2036 Olympics and the Youth Olympic Games. According to the minister, the offer came directly from IOC President Thomas Bach. Dito said he has explored the possibility of Indonesia hosting the Olympics and concluded that the country is capable of being a host of international sports events. Aside from Nusantara, "some of the options are Jakarta and Bali, as well as Jakabaring (Palembang, South Sumatra) and Medan (North Sumatra). The sports venues are spread across Indonesia, and I believe we are capable of hosting the Olympics, as long as we’re serious (in preparation),” he said.[10]
On 8 June 2020, the vice-president of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, Hazan Arat said, "Istanbul should be a candidate city for the 2032 Summer Olympic Games". The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, also stated: "We put forward our will, and in the name of Istanbul and Turkish people, we want to hold the Olympics and Paralympic Games in Istanbul".[11]
On 14 July 2021, a bid to host the 2036 games was launched.[12] On 3 April 2023, a meeting took place between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Secretary of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kasapoğlu and IOC President Thomas Bach, regarding the Turkish bid.[13]
India had previously expressed interest in hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics[19] but later chose to bid for bringing the 2036 Summer Olympics to an Indian city.[20] In 2021, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) hired PwC as its consultant, which identified 22 sites in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar with a potential to host the Olympics.[21][22] A large sports complex named the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave (SVPSE) is being built in Ahmedabad which will include multi-sport venues.[23] Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the SVPSE will be developed to meet Olympic standards.[24][25]
In September 2024, The New Indian Express reported that official bid committees had yet to be formed for the 2036 bid, and that there had been little to no support from the Indian Olympic Association for the bid. There are also concerns that despite venue plans being shown for Ahmedabad, no host city has been decided as of yet, with the IOC telling the newspaper that they had “not been informed by the IOA of any selected region”. During the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly in September, India's Union Minister of Labour and EmploymentMansukh Mandaviya said that “under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi we are going to bid for the 2030 Youth Olympics, but our focus remains on hosting the 2036 Olympics.”[33]
On 1 October 2024, the Indian Olympic Association officially submitted a letter of intent to the Future Host Commission.[34][35]
In January 2025, a multi-city bid for India was proposed, with events held in Ahmedabad (aquatics, athletics, basketball, shooting, tennis, urban sports, volleyball, and hosting the main Olympic Village), Bhubaneswar (field hockey), Bhopal (rowing), Mumbai (cricket) and Pune (canoeing). This approach would fall in line with the Indian government's plan to increase sports engagement across the country.[38][39]
During the 2023 Pan American Games, IOC president Thomas Bach suggested that the Chilean Olympic Committee consider bidding for the Olympics in the future after praising the games' organization.[40] Once the Games closed, the president of the organizing committee Harold Mayne-Nichols confirmed the intentions to evaluate a potential bid for 2036.[41] President Gabriel Boric supported the idea, saying that while a bid it is something that has to be studied carefully, Chile "has the right to dream bigger".[42] In addition, several members of the Chamber of Deputies has asked President Boric to take steps to register a formal bid.[43]
In May 2024, an interview with Harold Mayne-Nicholls, CEO of the 2023 Pan American Games Organizing Committee, said that Santiago was actively working towards a bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics. He said that the country's Minister of Sports, Jaime Pizarro, and the Chilean Olympic Committee, were discussing the feasibility with the IOC. Pizarro also highlighted that Santiago's infrastructure was "in excellent condition." He also pointed out any necessary works that would be needed, such as extending the Santiago Metro to the international airport, building some new and sufficient venues, as well as a need to increase the capacity and technologies of existing venues to meet IOC requirements. An idea of events on Easter Island, and a preference to hold their games in October (which would mark the first Olympics since 2000 to be held outside the traditional summer window) to avoid the colder Southern Hemisphere winter, was also discussed.[44]
In June 2024, Boric confirmed during his annual State of the Nation speech that Chile will offer a bid for the 2036 Olympic Games to be in Santiago, giving green light to the Ministry of Sports to start the process.[45]
In October 2024, in a Panam Sports General Assembly held in Asunción, Paraguay, IOC president Thomas Bach, Minister of Sports, Jaime Pizarro, and Chilean Olympic Committee president Miguel Ángel Mujica discussed held a discussion regarding Santiago's bid. In an interview with EFE, Jaime Pizarro, said that "leveraging all the experience gained from the Pan American and Parapan American Games, we participated in continuous dialogues about all the preliminary processes, and the decision will be made before Los Angeles 2028." He shared how the venue plan could be used, which would involve venues decentralized across the country, such as Pichilemu hosting surfing, Viña del Mar hosting triathlon, and San Pedro de la Paz hosting rowing and canoeing. It is also expected experience will be gained, and potential will be shown from Chile hosting the 2025 Youth Parapan American Games, the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2025 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup, and the 2027 Special Olympics World Summer Games.[46]
Potential bids
Africa
As of 2024, the Olympic Games have never been staged in Africa, the only humanly habitable continent to hold this distinction.
Egypt has expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics in a multi-million dollar under-construction sports complex called the Egypt International Olympic City, 45 kilometers east of Cairo.[47] In January 2022, the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhy, revealed the country's plans to bid for the games and potentially seek to become the first nation in Africa to host the Olympic Games. Cairo had previously bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics and was not shortlisted, with the games eventually going to Beijing, China.[48] The project is stated to feature a 92,000-seat stadium, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts and indoor venues.[49]
On 22 November 2024, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president, Barry Hendricks, alongside CEO Nozipho Jafta and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie met with the IOC’s Future Host Commission to explore the potential opportunities and requirements for South Africa to host the 2036 Olympics. According to IOC President Thomas Bach, "Africa is on the rise and South Africa has the stability, the infrastructure and vision to stage an Olympics".[54][55][56]
On 2 December 2024, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president, Barry Hendricks, confirmed that South Africa's Olympic bid would be launched in February 2025.[57]
The mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon said he is pursuing to host the 2036 Olympics quietly.[58][59] He met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 October 2022, and proposed Seoul's bid to host the Olympics. He also outlined the city's ongoing 2.1 trillion-won (US$1.46 billion) project to build a large-scale sports and entertainment complex (Jamsil Sports MICE Complex) in southeastern Seoul, saying the complex can be used as an instrumental facility for the 2036 Olympics. The Jamsil Sports MICE Complex is being built on the site of the Seoul Sports Complex, and will include the existing Seoul Olympic Stadium, as well as a new baseball stadium, a new indoor arena, an underground swimming pool as well as a convention and exhibition center and 3 hotels.[60] Bach responded that Seoul appears to be prepared to host an Olympics, referring to his recent visit to Seoul and briefings he received on the project.[61][62] If Seoul is selected, this would be the second Summer Olympic Games to be hosted in Seoul, after the 1988 Summer Olympics.
In November 2024, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee set a deadline of November 12 for cities or regions to submit letters of intent, with the committee expected to select a candidate in February 2025. The selection of candidates is for Seoul to spread venues across a larger region to use as many existing venues as they can. Partner cities could include Busan, Incheon, Gangwon or North Jeolla Province, with the latter also planning a sole bid. The governor of North Jeolla Province, Kim Gwan-young, had proposed North Jeolla Province's bid, with plans to use 22 existing venues (including a renovation of Jeonju World Cup Stadium to become an Olympic stadium) and constructing 11 temporary venues using wooden structures, with an expected budget of ₩10.3 trillion ($7.4 billion), with an economic return of ₩42 trillion ($30 billion).[63]
In December 2024, the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, confirmed that the Korean Institute of Sport Science had conducted a study on the bid's economic viability, which determined that the cost to benefit ratio reached a satisfactory 1.03. There have been early proposals for venues, such as Gwanghwamun Square hosting archery, and Hangang Park hosting beach volleyball. Two neighbouring provinces were also confirmed to host some sports with Seoul is selected; Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. On 26 December, venue inspections began in Seoul.[64]
Towards the end of April 2024, Qatari newspaper Al-Watan reported that Qatari officials were preparing a comprehensive bid file.[66] On 28 May 2024, Spanish sports website Relevo reported that despite Doha's bid not being confirmed, it was preferred among IOC members, while Qatari officials outlining the final plans for their bid, which, according to Relevo, is allegedly a preferred host.[67]
In August 2024, the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, confirmed on RTL that he backed Budapest hosting the 2036 Olympics, but a bid would only be possible if the Prime Minister of Hungary increases the funding needed to bid for and host the games, as it is being withheld by an opposing political party.[71] In November 2024, the Curia of Hungary ruled that a referendum to determine whether Budapest should bid may be held, resulting in the overturning of a decision made by the General Assembly of Budapest.[72]
Mia Nyegaard, mayor of the Culture and Leisure Committee of the Copenhagen City Council, considered a small-budget Olympics with minimal investment and using the facilities that the area has to offer. She stated that the plan would involve building a temporary Olympic Stadium and either the development of an athletes’ village that could later be converted to student and family housing, or using cruise ships in the Port of Copenhagen as the athletes’ village (which is similar to a passenger-cargo ship being used to house surfing athletes in Tahiti during the 2024 Summer Olympics).[75] The third edition of the SportsPro Hackathon, held in late February 2023, featured 14 teams from five countries competing in three challenges on three sustainable ideas for a 2036 Olympics in Copenhagen, which saw teams design a sustainable development for Copenhagen using a company part of The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme. The 3 winners, respectively, showed houses made from shipping containers for Airbnb, a cost-effective regeneration of Mjølnerparken that would also host the athlete's village, and a line of reusable drinks cups from Coca-Cola that would connect to a mobile app.[76]
In September 2024, the Copenhagen City Council would budget 500,000 kroner to explore a 2036 Olympic bid, and the funds will also be used to submit a bid for the 2030 Summer Youth Olympics.[77]
China launched a proposal for a joint bid involving Chengdu and Chongqing for the 2032 or the 2036 Summer Olympics.[80][81] In March 2018, Pu Hu, a member of the CPPCC Chengdu Committee, submitted a proposal for Chengdu to bid for the 2036 Olympic Games.[82] Chengdu hosted the 2021 Summer World University Games, and will host the 2025 World Games.
There has been no news regarding the bid since, but a member of the Chengdu Municipal People's Congress had allegedly clarified that they will not submit a bid.
After multiple unsuccessful bids for the Summer Olympics, Spain had originally planned to bid for the 2036 Olympics, but later shifted its focus to restructure the bid criteria potentially for the 2040 Olympics or beyond.[83]Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco stated, "I have had several meetings with the Mayor of Madrid talking about this issue and Madrid, without a doubt, is a city that should try to host the Olympic Games, but it will not opt for the 2036 Games." In 2023, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, suggested that her city could be back on track. But the IOC Executive Board's secrecy policy about the current bid parties list, made it unclear who was right on the destiny of the Madrid bid. To date, the only Olympic Games celebrated in the country were the 1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona. Madrid had previously bid for the 1972, 2012, 2016, and the 2020 games. The latter games were awarded to Munich, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, respectively.[84]
Businessman and politician Borys Kolesnikov helped oversee Ukraine's co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2012 after being appointed as Deputy Prime Minister in 2010 and is the leader of the political party Ukraine is Our Home, created in early 2021.[85] In September 2021, he was quoted as expecting the 2036 Summer Olympic Games to generate income and development for the city's local economy and tourism.[86] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Odesa and its surrounding region have been the target of frequent shelling and air strikes by Russian forces, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings.[87]
In February 2019, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the possibility of London hosting either the 2032 or 2036 Summer Olympics. The mayor remarked that 2032 "was not out of the question", but that a 2036 bid was more likely. London had the Summer Olympics in 1908, 1948, and 2012.[88][89] In the end, London did not submit a bid for 2032. In July 2022, Khan said he and his office were working on plans to bring the Olympics back to London in 2036 in what would be the "greenest Games ever".[90] In a January 2023 interview, the Mayor stated London would not submit a bid for 2036, and would instead explore the option of hosting the Games in 2040.[91]
In July 2023, on TVP Sport, the Polish Minister of Sport and Tourism, Kamil Bortniczuk, spoke about his feelings about the third European Games held in Kraków and the possibility of organizing the Olympic Games. He said that Poland has made a huge step forward and is ready to host the Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044, without yet indicating which city would apply for it.[92]
Announced in Zakopane by PresidentAndrzej Duda, Prime MinisterMateusz Morawiecki, Minister of Sport and Tourism, Kamil Bortniczuk on 26 September 2023, during the European Sport and Tourism Congress.[93][94][95] After the 3rd European Games in Kraków, the Polish government expressed interest in submitting an application for the Games in 2036 or 2044, with Warsaw being the city likely to be chosen.[96]
During a conference in Karczew in August 2024, Tusk said that Poland would focus on bidding for the 2040 or 2044 Olympics, as based on IOC's preliminary assessment that would be more viable.[98][99][100]
Since these OIympics will mark 100 years since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, LSB President Thomas Härtel envisioned a campaign reminiscent of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and its motto, "Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden" ("A time to make friends"), and proposed a joint bid of Berlin and Tel Aviv. However, the idea to host the games together with Israel has since been abandoned as German stakeholders are leaning towards a sole German host.[101] Other potential cities are Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, as well as the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. In autumn 2023, DOSB toured through German cities to discuss a potential bid with the local population, because of the previously rejected Hamburg 2024 bid in a referendum.[102] The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner announced his support for the bid on 13 November 2023.[103]
On 24 July 2024, the Federal Cabinet announced that it would prefer to see Germany host the 2040 Summer Olympics, which would occur during the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Germany.[104]
On October 8, 2024, the sports councilor of Barcelona, David Escudé, announced that his city is open to a bid for the Olympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. He said that for Barcelona sports are an "intangible part of city pride".[105][106][107] Barcelona had previously hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics.
On 26 October 2022, the Foreign Affairs Secretary of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, alongside the President of the Mexican Olympic Committee, Maria Jose Alcala, announced that Mexico City would be officially bidding to host the games in 2036. On 25 March 2023, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard and the President of the Mexican Olympic Committee, María José Alcalá, handed over an official letter of intent to IOC President Thomas Bach.[111] Mexico's candidacy marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Mexican Olympism, as part of the International Olympic Movement.[112]
On 16 January 2024, Mexico withdrew their bid, citing tough competition. They expressed interest in bidding for future Pan American Games and Youth Olympic Games, which they believe they will have a better chance at hosting.[113]
^Tremblay, Réjean (3 February 2021). "Les Jeux olympiques partagés" [The shared Olympic Games]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
^"DOSB LÄDT HAMBURG ZUM DIALOG ÜBER OLYMPIA EIN" [DOSB invites Hamburg to a dialogue about the Olympics]. Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (in German). 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
1 – Games handed without bids submitted; 2 – Only one bid submitted; 3 – Bids submitted but no Games celebration; 4 – No bids submitted and no Games celebration
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