India submitted its Letter of Intent for hosting the 2036 Olympics in 2024. However, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board has proposed a new stage. They intend to add a “Strategic Dialogue Stage” which will shortlist the “Interested Parties with Developed Projects”.
This ongoing review has paused all future bids, including India’s bid for the 2036 Games. Kirsty Coventry, the chief of the IOC Future Hosts Commission, put the selection process on hold last year. Her reason was that there needs to be a more elaborate discussion with potential hosts. India is aiming to make Ahmedabad the host city.
According to an IOC statement, “The IOC EB is proposing a transitional stage of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ between Continuous and Targeted Dialogue to allow the EB (Executive Board) to shortlist Interested Parties, as well as the increased involvement of stakeholders along the way.”
These new selection criteria will be proposed on June 24th and 25th during the 146th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland. India is currently in the continuous dialogue stage.
The IOC stated that, “The new Olympic election process, which will be submitted to the IOC Session, will establish timelines, clear milestones and additional points of engagement with IOC Members to provide greater predictability and transparency for potential hosts and the Olympic Movement.”
“A transitional stage of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ will take place between Continuous and Targeted Dialogue to allow the EB to shortlist Interested Parties with developed projects for more in-depth evaluation.”
These new criteria aim to provide a chance for bidders to develop their projects in a more cost-efficient way. The recommendations were taken from the analysis of the Olympic Programme Working Group (OPWG) and the Future Hosts Commission for the Games.
The IOC Executive Board said that they would take a discipline-focused approach, “Two distinct pathways will be established: Incumbent disciplines, already included in the Olympic Games referenced in the Host Contract (and) Candidate disciplines, not currently part of that edition’s programme.
“All disciplines will undergo an initial screening, covering governance standards, anti-doping compliance, integrity measures, and athlete safety and safeguarding,” the IOC stated.
“A final stage will bring together high-performing candidate disciplines and lower-performing incumbent disciplines for direct comparison using consistent and objective measures.”
All sports disciplines will also be reviewed. High-performing new sports will be compared against lower-performing sports to see who gets a spot. The list of these sports will be decided seven years before the Games take place.
“The events programme and athlete quotas will be finalised after the previous edition of the Games. The IOC Session will be the decision-making authority for the discipline programme.
“Disciplines removed from the programme will remain eligible for future inclusion via the candidate pathway, ensuring a continued development opportunity.”
If these new criterias are approved, they will be applicable from 2032, and will apply to the Brisbane 2032 Games.
