GENEVA — India and Qatar finally got some clarity on Tuesday for their long-held ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics.
They are now in a formal contest with five other bidders, including one that would take the Summer Games for the first time to Africa. The International Olympic Committee set an Oct. 31 deadline for late arrivals to the contest.
India and Qatar have long been seen as favored candidates in a hosting contest the IOC aims to decide in 2029 by a contested vote of its 100-plus members. Those members include Nita Ambani from India's richest family, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and Turkey also are bidders in an open-ended process with the IOC that also lets them target future Summer Games in 2040 and 2044.
“But wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: Athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a two-time swimming gold medalist.
The IOC also published a 30-page document on Tuesday to guide bidders over the next 2 1/2 years when key decisions will be taken by the Coventry-chaired IOC executive board. Its 15 members include NBA great Pau Gasol representing athletes.
Main cities of the seven bids
India's bid plan centers on the city of Ahmedabad, which will host the multi-sport Commonwealth Games in 2030, and has the world's largest cricket stadium which is named for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Qatar has hosted world championships in most top-tier Olympic sports, including soccer’s 2022 World Cup. Its bid could yet expand from Doha to send some events to Gulf neighbors.
A Qatar-hosted Olympics should require the Summer Games to move to later in the year from the July-August slot it has occupied at each edition from 2004 in Athens through 2032 in Brisbane.
A South Korean bid would be anchored in Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Summer Games, and spread across the country.
German Olympic officials last month picked Munich, which previously hosted in 1972.
South Africa’s bid shapes to be national and centered on Cape Town, and would be a first African host of the Summer Games since the modern Olympics was created in 1896.
Hungary and Turkey propose Budapest and Istanbul, respectively.
The key date is in March, the IOC said, when the board will approve a shortlist of candidates to develop detailed projects.
Campaign of 2 1/2 years to pick 2036 host
The 2029 target date for a contested vote is a return to the IOC’s previous long-time schedule and process to pick Summer Games hosts.
It is also later than seemed likely last year when Coventry was elected, and both India and Qatar seemed poised to push for a quick decision. They and other national Olympic officials promoted their bid plans in Paris during the 2024 Olympics.
Coventry's first big decision on taking office in June 2025 was to pause the fast-track process, and more secretive one, which allowed Brisbane to be picked as the 2032 host fully 11 years in advance and without a contested vote.
IOC members want choice of candidates
IOC members stressed to Coventry they wanted to be more involved in the choice than was the case under her predecessor Thomas Bach, and to get a choice of multiple candidates on the ballot instead of simply confirming the board's preferred choice.
The invited group in the exclusive IOC membership club includes sports officials, current and retired athletes, members of royal families, politicians including former heads of states, business leaders and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
___
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
