Seven Nations Bid for 2036 Summer Olympics

Seven countries have officially entered the race to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, with Germany selecting Munich as its candidate city. The International Olympic Committee revealed the list of interested nations on Tuesday, confirming bids from Qatar, India, South Africa, Turkiye, Germany, Hungary, and South Korea. Other interested countries have until October 31 to enter the bidding process.

South Korea and Germany are the only countries on the current list to have previously hosted the Summer Games. Munich hosted in 1972, while Seoul staged the 1988 edition. Hungary most recently bid for the 2024 Games but has never hosted the Olympics. The German National Olympic Committee voted last month to select Munich for a Games a century after the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Timeline and process

The International Olympic Committee will draw up a final shortlist in March 2027. After bid submission, interested parties will enter a dialogue process involving virtual presentations and feasibility studies. The IOC executive board will select an initial shortlist after these assessments.

Preferred hosts for the 2036 Olympics will be named in 2028. A final decision on the host is expected in mid-2029, following a vote by IOC members. The IOC stated the 2036 hosts will be assessed on funding, political support, and public support.

National ambitions and legacies

Bidders are framing their campaigns around historic firsts and existing infrastructure. South Africa, which hosted the 2010 football World Cup, would be the first African nation to host the Olympics. Qatar, host of the 2022 football World Cup, aims to be the first Muslim-majority nation to host the Games. An Olympics in the Gulf would need to be moved from the traditional July-August slot due to heat.

India intends to host its first Olympics, centred on Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Ahmedabad will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, viewed as a test event, and is home to the world’s largest cricket stadium. Turkey has tried and failed to bid for the Olympics on five occasions, with Istanbul coming second to Tokyo for the 2020 Games.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a Zimbabwean former swimmer, stated that athletes must be at the heart of everything the IOC does. "Wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do," Coventry said.

Context and confirmation

The next two Olympic host cities have already been decided. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, and Brisbane was chosen as the host city for the 2032 Games. Before the final vote for 2036, it is likely that more than one country will be named as preferred hosts.

An Indonesian bid to host the Games in Nusantara was rejected by the IOC. The rejection came after the country refused to permit Israeli athletes to compete at the World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta in 2025. The IOC Executive Board will draw up a shortlist of interested parties for the 2036 Olympics in March 2027.