India’s bid for 2036 Olympic Games begins to occupy centre stage in conversations

You do not need to have an ear to the ground to hear about India’s growing interest in the 2036 Olympic Games. The buzz has only grown louder – from hopeful whispers so that a few could sense it to ambitious proclamations so that everyone is now aware. From drawing rooms to chambers of commerce, 2036 has come to be a subject of discussion. Even the Sports Science India Conclave in Bhubaneswar allowed itself some digression from matters of technical import to hear diverse views on if India can host the 2036 Olympic Games, likely to cost billions of dollars. Though the panelists flagged some corollaries, the popular view was overwhelmingly positive. 

Though it is nor the first time that India has got serious about hosting the Olympic Games – its bid to secure the 1992 Games came unstuck – the political will prevalent today and the Government’s unwavering commitment to the idea are factors that will lend much muscle to the bid this time.

There can be no doubt about India’s capabilities but some of the guarded optimism stems from the nature of competition that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Hungary, South Africa and others can offer India. There is also focus on the massive expenditure that Olympic hosts have had to undertake – and the usual suggestions that such money is better spent on education and health.

Talking of the growing interest in hosting the Olympic Games, IOC will be pleased that there are multiple bids for the 2036 Games. In 2017, when it dealt with allocation of the 2024 Games, it was so concerned that the number of aspirants had come down. It made an unprecedented decision – it allotted the 2028 Games to Los Angeles, without a bidding process.

Budapest had followed Hamburg and Rome in exiting the race for the 2024 Olympic Games. The two cities withdrew from the race because their citizens voted against the idea. With only Paris and Los Angeles as the contenders for the 2024 Games, Los Angeles was convinced to alter its bid and agree to let Paris secure the 2024 edition while securing the right to host the 2028 edition.

The good thing is that the International Olympic Committee now recognises the need for sustainability and encourages the host to not only utilise existing infrastructure but also to take the Games to multiple cities. Besides, a fair part of the cost of organising the Games is met from the host’s share of the IOC’s broadcast and sponsorship revenues.

Does India need to do a few things right even as it gets the bid documents together and seeks to impress the IOC’s Future Host Commission and the IOC Board to allot the 2036 Games? Of course, it does. It would be risky to believe that everything is pitch perfect and that those who make the decision will be bowled over.

The Indian Olympic Association must also set its house in order to be able to engage with IOC more effectively. The imbroglio around the appointment of its Chief Executive Officer is not something that cannot be overcome at all. It calls for mature and open-minded conversations by everyone concerned so that the cogs can function in unison and power the wheel efficiently. 

It will be interesting to see how India’s bid shapes up and if it guards against the typical pitfalls by studying the processes followed by recent Olympic hosts and learning from them. A clutch of international consultants may already be at work to assist India get its bid ready and its act right so that the 2036 Games are allotted to India. 

The power-that-be driving the bid would do well to get the budget projections right. To be sure, the only reason for this to be raised is not the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi experience but also the fact that most Olympic Games hosts have not been able to get this part right. Some recent studies suggest that every edition has seen cost over-runs.

Besides general infrastructure as housing and transport to accommodate athletes, officials and fans, sports infrastructure and operational costs used to be the primary expenses for such events but over the years, the cost of providing security to the Games has escalated manifold, possibly accounting for between 10 and 20 per cent of the total expenses. 

Even if few hosts have actually made any profit financially, the eagerness to be home of the Olympic Games is driven by many considerations. While not all of it may have to do with sport and some of it would have to do only with city development, it only takes firm political will for a country to take up such a mammoth task.

Indeed, you can be sure that there will be more conversations in public fora.