India and Qatar have officially entered the race to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, joining five other bidders as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) begins a formal process to select the host city.
The IOC has set October 31 as the deadline for countries wishing to enter the competition. The seven current bidders are India, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and Turkey. The selection process is expected to conclude with a vote by more than 100 IOC members in 2029.
India and Qatar have emerged as prominent contenders for the 2036 Games. India’s representation in the IOC includes Nita Ambani, while Qatar’s delegation includes Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The other bidders are also considering future Olympic editions, including the 2040 and 2044 Summer Games. The open-ended bidding process allows countries to remain in contention for those editions if they are not selected for 2036.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the bidding process must ultimately focus on athletes and their needs. Coventry, a two-time Olympic swimming champion, stressed that athletes should remain at the centre of all decisions related to the Games.
The IOC has also released a 30-page framework outlining the bidding process and key requirements for the candidates. Important decisions will be taken by the IOC Executive Board, led by Coventry, over the next two and a half years. The 15-member board also includes former NBA star and Olympic athlete Pau Gasol as an athletes’ representative.
India and Qatar Lead Their Olympic Bids
India’s proposal is centred on Ahmedabad, which is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The city is also home to the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Qatar, meanwhile, has extensive experience in hosting major international sporting events. The country has staged world championships in several major Olympic sports and hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Its Olympic proposal could potentially include venues outside Doha, with events possibly being held in other Gulf countries.
A Qatar-hosted Olympics could also require changes to the traditional July-August schedule because of the region’s extreme summer temperatures.
South Korea’s bid is centred on Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Olympics, with events planned across different parts of the country. Germany has selected Munich as its proposed host city. Munich previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1972.
South Africa is developing a national bid centred on Cape Town. If successful, it would make Africa a host of the modern Summer Olympics for the first time since the Games began in 1896.
Hungary and Turkey have proposed Budapest and Istanbul respectively as their host cities.
IOC to Shortlist Candidates in March
The next major step in the process will come in March, when the IOC Executive Board is expected to approve a shortlist of candidates that will be allowed to develop more detailed Olympic hosting plans.
The decision timeline represents a return to the IOC’s traditional process of selecting a Summer Games host through a competitive vote. The final decision is currently expected in 2029.
The process was initially expected to move faster, particularly after India and Qatar promoted their ambitions during the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after taking office in June 2025, Coventry paused the IOC’s previous fast-track and more closed selection process.
That earlier approach had resulted in Brisbane being selected as the 2032 Olympic host 11 years before the Games, without a contested vote.
IOC Members Seek Greater Choice
IOC members have called for greater involvement in the selection process and want multiple candidates to be presented for a vote rather than simply approving a preferred choice put forward by the Executive Board.
The IOC membership includes sports administrators, current and former athletes, members of royal families, politicians, former heads of state, business leaders and public figures such as Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
With seven countries currently in the race, the competition for the 2036 Olympics is set to continue for the next two and a half years before the IOC makes its final decision.
