Seven countries want to host the 2036 Olympics

The Lausanne-based body reminded that October 31, 2026, is the deadline for submitting bid files. However, according to a source familiar with the file, the committee does not expect new candidates to emerge within this short deadline, given the technical complexities required by the files.

Details of the cities that will submit their bid files have not yet been disclosed.

It explained that the 2036 Olympic bid files will be evaluated based on several factors, including funding, as well as political and public support.

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in a statement, "Wherever the Games are held, one thing must never change: athletes must be at the heart of everything we do."

The former Zimbabwean swimmer added, "For this reason, providing the best possible experience for the athletes must be the primary starting point for any future host."

Following Paris hosting the last edition in the summer of 2024, the next two editions will be held in Los Angeles, USA, in 2028, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.

The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to choose the host for the 2036 edition in mid-2029, following a different mechanism from the one adopted to award the Olympic Games for the years 2030, 2032, and 2034, as it announced in June.

The awarding of the 2036 Olympics will be the first major decision under the tenure of Coventry, who was elected IOC President in March 2025. The decision is met with greater anticipation due to the possibility of awarding the hosting rights to a country that has never organized the Games before, such as India, in a first since the Rio 2016 edition.

According to the planned timetable, the International Olympic Committee will choose one or more "preferred hosts" in December 2028, who must submit a series of guarantees before being evaluated among themselves in mid-2029.

The 2030, 2032, and 2034 editions were awarded six, 11, and 10 years in advance, respectively. This disparity is due to a highly flexible and largely confidential mechanism, in which the IOC session only intervened at the end of the process to endorse the Executive Board's choice.

"Strategic dialogue"

From now on, "continuous dialogue" will take place with interested potential hosts away from the spotlight, followed starting in March 2027 by a "strategic dialogue" with a preliminary list of candidates, who will undergo more rigorous evaluation and be visited by the Future Host Commission, as Commission Chair Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović explained in June.

India, in particular, dreams of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games to cement its status as a major global power.

In its letter of intent sent to the International Olympic Committee in October 2024, the Indian committee highlighted the "(country's) growing importance on the global stage" and its status as "the only major economy that has not yet hosted the Games."

Since coming to power in 2014, Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to boost his country's standing among the world's major powers, particularly in competition with rival China, which has hosted the Olympic Games twice.

For its part, Qatar hopes, if successful in securing the first-ever hosting in the Middle East and North Africa, to be able to "present a unique Arab Olympic model rooted in diversity and openness, building on a sustainable legacy and the power of sport to spread hope and peace," as the Qatar Olympic Committee affirmed in July 2025.

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Olympic Committee and Head of the Bid Committee, said, "We have made sport a fundamental pillar of our national strategy, and today we aspire to enhance this role at the regional and international levels by presenting a new model that reflects the diversity of our region."

Sheikh Joaan, who heads the Olympic Council of Asia, added, "We currently possess a sports infrastructure that is 95% ready to host the Olympics, and we have an integrated national plan that ensures the readiness of all facilities by 100%."

Regarding Turkey, Istanbul had lost the race to host the 2020 Summer Games after finishing second behind Tokyo.

For its part, Germany announced at the end of September the selection of Munich to defend its bid to host the Olympic Games in either 2036, 2040, or 2044.

The country has previously hosted the Olympic Games three times, including the 1936 Berlin edition, which was used for propaganda purposes by Nazi Germany.