‘PM Modi running around saying he’s been offered 2036 Olympics’: Ex-IOC official
In October 2023, Modi announced that India will bid to host the 2036 Olympics
A former official of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday (August 11) claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been “running around saying” that the 2036 Olympics have been “offered” to India.
Michael Payne, a former IOC marketing chief, who has worked with several Olympic bid cities and sponsors, praised the organisers of the Paris Olympics 2024 which concluded on Sunday.
“France surprised people… It worked beyond anyone’s wildest dreams,” Payne said, according to a report in Reuters.
He said the success of Paris Games “will reboot cities’ interest in bidding to host the Games". He said he had already noticed several eyeing 2036, the report added.
Turkey held a high-profile reception in Paris, which he described as the unofficial launch of Istanbul's bid, while “(PM) Modi is running around saying he has been offered the Games”, he said.
In October 2023, Modi announced that India will bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
“India is enthusiastic about hosting the Olympics in the country. India will spare no effort in preparing for the successful organisation of the Olympics in 2036; this is the dream of 1.4 billion Indians. This dream must be realised with your cooperation and support,” Modi said at the IOC Congress in Mumbai last year.
“I am highly confident that India will receive unwavering support from the IOC,” he added.
Before the Paris Olympics, Modi interacted with Indian athletes and sought their inputs for India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics.
“We are hoping to host the Olympics in 2036, it will help in creating a sporting atmosphere (in the country). Work is in progress to prepare infrastructure for it,” he said in an interaction with Paris-bound athletes in July.
India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics was also found in the BJP's poll manifesto for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections under the title ‘Modi ki Guarantee for Sports Development’.
The BJP said, "We will facilitate IOA (Indian Olympic Association) to bid for hosting the Olympic Games in 2036."
To host the 2036 Olympics, apart from India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Turkey are set to have shown interest to bid.