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Introduction
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has confirmed India’s bid to host Olympics 2036 saying that the country will “leave no stone unturned” to host the Olympics in 2036. PM Modi further added that India will also bid to host Youth Olympic Games in 2029. PM Modi’s comments came at the Opening Ceremony of the International Olympic Committee’s 141st Session in Mumbai. IOC president Thomas Bach was also in attendance at the event along with the who’s who of the IOC.
What is the process of Selection of Host Country/City for Olympics?
The process of selection of Host Country/city has undergone a change. The change of process was necessitated because the initial process of selection of host country was marred by corruption, scandals and huge debts.
Initial Process of Selection of Host Country
| Step 1 | Olympic host Countries/Cities would submit a letter of interest to the IOC, through their respective national Olympic committees. This led to starting of a multi-year, multi-step evaluation process. The bidding Counties/cities would complete a series of questionnaires which was evaluated by the IOC. |
| Step 2 | There was scrutiny of the bid by the IOC Evaluation Commission. A series of inspections of all venues were conducted by the IOC Evaluation Commission. The final bids were then put to vote at an IOC session. The hosts were selected seven years in advance as per the Olympic Charter. It often led to excessive spending among the bidders, to secure rights, often ending in huge debts, corruptions and scandals. |
What is the ‘new process’ of selection of the Host Country/City?
In the 2014 IOC session, roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, Olympic Agenda 2020, was laid Down. One part of the Olympic Agenda 2020, dealt with a new process for host city selection, and it was called the ‘new norm’. It was officially adopted during the 2019 IOC session in Lausanne.
The new process is based in three Pillars- Flexibility, Sustainability and Cost Effectiveness.
| Flexibility | The ‘New Process’ has done away with the 7 years time period for the selection of Host Country. The Hosts can be selected much before 7 years (Brisbane 2032 Olympics-Selected 11 years before in 2021). Also, the Hosts can be selected as lately as 7 years (Olympics 2036 can be selected even after 2030). There are two dialogue mechanisms- 1. Continuous Dialogue- Non-Committal stage. It is basically a discussion between the IOC’s Future Hosts Commission (FHC) and interested parties about the hosts’ vision for the Games, its purpose and long-term legacy. 2. Targeted Dialogue- Determining Stage. The host city/country is selected after detailed scrutiny and negotiation with the IOC. The host country/city can be considered for hosting later editions of the games as well. |
| Sustainability | Hosts are encouraged as far as possible to use existing and temporary venues. Any new venues built must be in line with existing developmental plans and have a long-term justification irrespective of the Games. All editions of the summer/winter/youth Olympic Games from 2030 onwards must also adhere to the IOC’s climate positive commitment. |
| Cost-Effectiveness | As per the IOC’s, the focus on using existing and temporary venues has led to an 80% decrease in the bid budgets for the 2026 Winter Games compared to the 2018 and 2022 editions. |
Read More – India’s 2036 Olympic dream
Why is India bidding for Host Country rights for Olympics 2036?
Following are the reasons for India bidding for Host Country Rights for Olympics 2036-
1. The Olympics as a medium for enhancement of Soft-Power- India wants to use Olympics games to showcase its display and enhance its soft power. For ex- Post-World War Europe, post-apartheid South Africa, Brazil and China have used olympics as a medium for showcasing their soft-power.
2.Hosting rights of Olympics aligns with India’s Global Ambition- After a historic hosting of the G-20 summit, India wants to successfully host the Olympics to elevate its position in global politics. This will help in building a strong case for India’s candidature for permanent seat in the UNSC.
3.Push to India’s Sporting Culture- The government has been providing the nudge to sports culture with schemes like Khelo India, which has benefitted us in Asian Games 2023 (107 medals) and Tokyo Olympics (7 medals). The world class infrastructure created for the Olympic games would give a further strong push to Indian sporting culture.
4.Promotion of Investment and Tourism- India’s bid for hosting the olympics can catalyse investment and tourism in the country. For ex- Beijing Olympics(2008) led to significant GDP growth acceleration of around 0.8% in China.
5.Previous Experiences of Hosting Big tournaments- India has successfully hosted several big tournaments in the past like the Asian Games (1982). With India’s large economic might now, it can successfully host the biggest sporting tournament on the planet.
What are the Challenges in successful hosting of the Olympics?
1.Cost Overruns and financial distress- The Olympic games have witnessed cost over runs and caused financial distress in many Countries. Ex- Greece Financial crisis after the Athens Olympics 2004, Economic crisis in Brazil after the 2010 olympics and Tokyo Olympics 2020 cost over run ($15.4 bn)
2.Bidding is an expensive endeavour- Bidding for Olympics is an expensive endeavour with countries spending close to $50-100 million even for unsuccessful bids. For Ex- Tokyo spent $150 million for unsuccessful bid in 2016.
3.Low capacity of Urban Local Bodies in India- The majority of expenditure and the implementation of the Olympic games is done by the Urban Local Body of the host city. Urban Local Bodies of India suffer from the 3F challenge of Funds, Functions and Functionaries.
4.Previous corruption scandals/scams- The Commonwealth games of 2010 was plagued by the corruption scandals by the administrators and organisers. There are challenges of politico-bureaucratic interference in successful conduct of the games.
5.Environmental Challenges- Building of large scale infrastructure for the games would involve large scale destruction of environment like felling of trees.
Conclusion
With India’s ambition to hold the Olympics 2036, we need to work to resolve the challenges we may face in hosting the Olympics. India must aim to use the Olympics 2036 to arrive on the world stage as a major superpower as China did with the Beijing Olympics 2008.
| Read More- The Hindu UPSC Syllabus- Important International Institutions, agencies and fora – their Structure, Mandate. Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation. |
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