IOC names seven countries in dialogue to host the 2036 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that seven countries are in “continuous dialogue” to host the 2036 Summer Olympics: Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Türkiye, in alphabetical order Al Jazeera.

The IOC said on Tuesday that the interested parties have been invited to present their projects to its Future Host Commission in November. No other countries will be considered for 2036 after the 31 October deadline for new entries Mathrubhumi English.

Under the revised timeline, the IOC Executive Board will draw up a shortlist in March 2027, preferred hosts will be named in 2028, and IOC members will elect the 2036 host at a session in mid-2029 Straits Times.

“Wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: Athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do,” IOC president Kirsty Coventry said in a statement.

India is bidding for its first Olympics, centred on Ahmedabad in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. The city will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games as a rehearsal and is home to the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket ground Al Jazeera.

Qatar, which staged the 2022 football World Cup, is campaigning to become the first Muslim-majority nation to host the Games — though summer heat would push any Gulf Olympics later in the year. Germany’s candidate is Munich, selected by the German Olympic committee last month for a Games a century after the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Istanbul has failed in five previous attempts; South Africa would be the first African host.