IOA presents its statement of intent: On October 1, the International Olympic Committee received the letter of intent from the Indian Olympic Association. As of September, India has not submitted the region’s or city’s name to the IOC for the 2036 Olympics, but several of the other bidders had already determined the host cities. As is customary, it is unclear whether city or region has been listed as an interested party in the letter of intent.
India has sent a letter of intent to the IOC’s Future Hosts Commission, according to confirmation from IOA President PT Usha. She added that IOA officials have participated in the IOC-organized executive and observer program for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In a brief video, she stated, “These exchanges and education enabled us to submit the letter of intent to host the 2036 Olympic Games in India.”
With this, the IOA and all parties involved will move on to the next stage, which will involve ongoing discussions with interested parties and a bid that is not limited by time (i.e., it may be awarded before 2036).
As IOA presents its statement of intent for the 2036 Olympics:
The IOC stated in The Approach to Olympic Host Elections that the continuous conversation stage will come after informal interaction. According to the protocol, “The IOC supports the Interested Party to explore the feasibility of hosting sustainable Games through the Continuous Dialogue, which is a non-committal and non-edition specific phase.” According to the text, “the NOC must submit an official letter of intent to the IOC indicating the interested party (City or Region) in order to enter Continuous Dialogue with the IOC.” The Future Host Commission (FHC) would also be in charge of ongoing observation and evaluation.
The IOA is still deciding if Ahmedabad will serve as the host city, despite the fact that it has been making the rounds. The nation’s candidacy for the 2036 Olympic Games was launched the the Prime Minister during the IOC Congress in Mumbai last year. It is possible that two or three clusters will host the Games.
Due to the intense internal conflict within the IOA, things will not be easy even once the letter of intent has been sent. This newspaper had previously noted how this had caused the bidding process to be disrupted. It remains to be known who would be regularly engaging in negotiations with the IOC, given that the majority of the Executive Council members rebelled against the IOA president over the Chief Executive Officer’s selection. However, the CEO’s appointment has been recognized by the IOC. Even Usha’s election as president had been questioned by the EC.
Since January of this year, no EC meeting has been held to formally codify any decisions made in the IOA. Interestingly, a letter of intent has been sent to the IOC in spite of this. Additionally, a bid committee must be established, and the IOA has not yet announced one.
In September, the IOC had already informed this publication that the National Olympic Committee’s official backing is essential. Given India’s enormous enthusiasm for sports and young population, the IOC is pleased to see interest in hosting in 2036. Any Indian initiative would require the National Olympic Committee’s (NOC) formal support in order to proceed. The IOA of any chosen region has not notified the IOC,” the IOC had stated.
India is one of several interested parties participating in a continuous, non-committal dialogue with the IOC. Without tying it to any particular Games edition or year, this aids the prospective host in evaluating and refining its Olympic project,” the IOC has previously told this newspaper. We’ll have to wait and watch how the IOC handles this. It had already instructed the IOA to resolve its internal issue as soon as possible.
