2024-08-29 14:46:26
New Delhi: In October last year, India hosted the 141st session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In the opening session of the three-day session in Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his desire to host the 2036 Olympics. He said, “India will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the 2036 Olympics are successfully organised in India. This is the dream of 140 crore Indians”. The PM then reiterated this resolve in his address on 15 August from the Red Fort. The journey between taking the resolve to host and achieving it is extremely difficult. To realise the dream of hosting, India will have to put in the same kind of hard work and effort that an Indian player has to put in to win a medal in the Olympics. In many cases, even more than that. And yes, any medal less than gold will not suffice here.
Right now on the first step: There are many stages to be crossed to get the hosting of Olympics. The entire process of getting the hosting of Olympics has changed since the year 2019. It starts with a country expressing its desire to get the hosting, which India has expressed. After this, the concerned country contacts the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its National Olympic Association (NOC). According to the rule made five years ago changing the old bidding process, any country in the world can start talks with the IOC regarding the organization of any future Olympics. There are four stages of this conversation. India has expressed its desire to host the 2036 Olympics to the IOC and is in the very initial stage of dialogue with it.
The challenge of crossing four stages: Under the current rules, after a country expresses its desire to host, the IOC has informal talks with it. These talks are held with the Future Host Commission (FHC). The IOC has formed two FHCs for the Summer and Winter Olympics. India is interested in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics and the chairman of the 10-member FHC formed for this is former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. After establishing communication with the FHC, it invites a team from the concerned country to an Olympics. They are given a presentation and are helped to understand the process of organizing the Olympics. A four-member team was sent from India to the Paris Olympics. A senior IAS officer of the Gujarat government was also included in this. In this way, India has indicated that if the 2036 Olympics are held in India, it will be held in Gujarat.
‘Targeted dialogue’ is half the journey: The stage after informal talks is the Continuous Dialogue Stage. In this, the concerned region/city/state formally sends a proposal to the IOC’s FHC through its NOC (National Olympic Association). Based on this, the FHC identifies the concerned NOC as an ‘interested party’. During this, the country/city wishing to host does not have to give any written guarantee. The IOC conducts a ‘feasibility study’ on the interested party. The IOC also informs where improvements are required. The IOC also seeks a report on the status of human rights in the concerned area from an independent agency. All these reports are also sent to the FHC. During this, the concerned host is evaluated on seven points by the IOC. These include funding strategy, venue masterplan, as well as geopolitical, socio-economic, human development, environmental factors. After the feasibility reports are positive, the FHC informs the IOC board that the country concerned can be invited for a ‘targeted dialogue’ for a particular Olympics. Only if the IOC board is satisfied with the FHC’s recommendation will it invite the country for a ‘targeted dialogue’. Reaching this stage can be considered half way through for a country wishing to host.
First you have to become a ‘Preferred Host’: When the targeted dialogue stage begins, the IOC contacts the country interested in hosting as well as the international federations of different sports and asks for their recommendations. Apart from this, it also calls for an independent report on the estimated cost of the games, the opinion of the general public, and the impact of the said Olympics on the environment. After this, it sends the ‘Future Host Questionnaire’ to the party interested in hosting and asks for several written guarantees. The answers to several questions are verified at several levels. On being fully satisfied, the country/city is placed in the category of ‘Preferred Host’. If any shortcoming is noticed anywhere in this entire process, the IOC can again send the party interested in hosting to the ‘Continuous Dialogue Stage’. It is promised every possible guidance and help from the IOC in preparing for any future Olympics and in its efforts for this.
Last stage of selection: If the IOC Executive Board is completely satisfied, then it calls all the ‘Preferred Host/Hosts’ in front of the IOC members. They have to give a presentation of their project and answer all the questions of the IOC members. Finally, they are called to give the final presentation in front of the IOC session. If the number of ‘Preferred Hosts’ is more than one, then voting is done by the IOC members. The host is announced in the same session and the selected country (city) is made to sign the ‘Olympic Host Contract’ there.
Elections possible in 2026: Until a few years ago, the rule was that the future host should be selected at least seven years before any Olympics. Now after the implementation of the new process, there is no time limit for this. This is the reason why the election of the 2032 host was also done 11 years and two months earlier. The election of the host for the year 2036 is likely to be held in 2026. The term of IOC President Thomas Bach is ending next year. The election of the new president is to be held in 2025. Eight candidates are in the race for this. There is a high possibility that former Olympic champion athlete and current President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe will get this post. Only after this election, the process of selection of the host of the 2036 Olympics is expected to be completed.