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What's the story?
International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President John Coates has stated that India are officially out of the bidding race to host the 2032 Olympics.
The background
India has hosted several major sporting events in the past, and these include the Asian Games (1951 and 1982 editions); the Cricket World Cup (1987, 1996, and 2011 editions); the Commonwealth Games in 2010; the 2010 Hockey World Cup; the South Asian Games (1987, 1995, 2013, and 2016 editions).
In the recent past, India also hosted the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. However, India is yet to host an event of the stature of the Summer Olympics, in which there are over 200 participating countries.
The heart of the matter
India has abandoned its bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), John Coates, while speaking on the 4BC News Talk Radio, said:
“India was looking at it but they are looking now at the Youth Olympic Games."
Earlier in June 2019, Narinder Batra, the president of the National Olympic Committee had laid down an extensive plan last year towards the possibility of hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics. Batra had stated:
"We are looking at 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and the IOC Congress in 2021. We have also expressed our interest to host the 2030 Asian Games so that the infrastructure will be ready early and it will just be a two-year gap to the Olympics."
John Coates serves as the President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) in addition to being the VP of IOC. He also mentioned that Queensland is the biggest contender to host the 2032 Games. It is the only bid that has started an official dialogue with the IOC and made them the front runners in the race to win the hosting rights at the moment.
There is, however, no fixed election timetable and the winning city will be chosen when the timing seems right.
It has also been learned that Indonesia, China, Spain, Korea (joint bid) along with 12 cities from Germany have expressed their interest in hosting the 2032 edition of Summer Olympics. However, all these cities have, so far, not held any genuine discussions with the IOC which makes Queensland the favourite.
There has been a steady decline in the number of cities bidding for the Olympics as it has been observed that many cities end up overspending when they host the Games.
One Nation Party, the right-wing populist in Australia, have also opposed to hosting the Summer Olympics and are behind the launch of a billboard campaign and circulation of a petition which wants the matter to be debated in the Parliament. They claim that the potential Games would cost a mind-boggling AUD 12 billion and go over budget.
Coates, however, has rejected these claims. Speaking on the issue, the IOC VP said:
"The studies (of One Nation) are old. IOC now has a different approach to hosting the Games. We will adapt to a city rather than having the city adapt to us."
What's next?
While the host city for the 2032 Olympics has not been decided yet, it has been confirmed that Paris will host the 2024 edition while the 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Mumbai has been awarded the right to host the 2023 IOC Session but the chances of India hosting 2032 Summer Olympics are now off the table.
