The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) said on Tuesday it was taking part in discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the election process for the host city of the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The country, which hosted the most-watched sporting tournament after the Olympics, that’s the football World Cup in 2022, would be the latest nation to join the race to host the 2036 Games after confirmed bids from Indonesia, Turkey, India and Chile.
In a statement to the press, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, the president of Qatar Olympic Committee QOC, remarked that “We (QOC) currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities.”
“This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy,” he added
What are India’s chances of hosting the 2036 Olympics?
Recently, an Indian delegation met with the IOC in Switzerland, where Ahmedabad had been put forward as the official host city and said that the meeting had been productive. However, it later emerged that the IOC’s message to the Indian contingent was straightforward that India needs to get its affairs in order before developing the Olympic masterplan. Reports by The Indian Express further suggest that during the meeting, IOC flagged several concerns over the governance issues that continue to plague the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). These issues include but are not limited to the doping frenzy that is widespread across sports, along with India’s poor performance at the Olympics, with the country finishing 71st, with just six medals at last year’s Paris Games.
”It has been communicated very candidly that while India can continue preparing for its bid to host future Olympics, the country has to address these issues first,” an official affiliated with the Indian Olympic Association told the Indian Express. “This was, in a nutshell, the big takeaway from this meeting,” they further added.
Additionally, the ongoing process to select future hosts has been held under the newly elected IOC chief, Kirsty Coventry. She had said that a working group will be formed to ‘review how the future hosts are selected and when’. This pause follows reservations expressed by multiple IOC members about the current rules regarding the finalisation of the bid.
“There was overwhelming support from the IOC members for a pause to be done and a review of the future host election process, and we will be setting up a working group to look into this,” Coventry said after chairing her first executive board meeting in Switzerland.
Who are the other contenders for the hosting rights of the 2036 Olympics?
Other Asian countries considering a bid include Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Canada have also shown interest in hosting the most-watched sports tournament on the planet.
Qatar’s capital, Doha, is set to host the Asian Games in 2030, having staged the event in 2006.
A successful bid would make Qatar the first country in the Middle East to host the Olympics amid the region’s growing influence over major sporting events. Saudi Arabia is set to hold the soccer World Cup in 2034.
(With Inputs from Reuters)