Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on Saturday that India would bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
PM Modi made the announcement during the inauguration of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai.
“India is very excited to organise an Olympics,” he said. “India will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to organise the 2036 Olympics. It’s a dream of 140 crore Indians. With the support of IOC, we would want to fulfil this dream. Sports is not just for winning medals but it is also the best way to win hearts. It not only gives rise to champions but also promotes peace.”
PM Modi added that India are also willing to host the Youth Olympics in 2029. “We are willing to host the 2029 Youth Olympics, I am sure India will get constant support from IOC,” he said in the presence of IOC president Thomas Bach.
India is hosting the IOC session for the second time after a gap of about 40 years. The IOC’s 86th session was held in New Delhi in 1983.
IOC president Thomas Bach, who began his address earlier in the evening while greeting the gathering by saying ‘namaste’, told the Indian PM ‘aapka bahut-bahut swagat hai’ (we welcome you) while adding that the country has been on the rise economically and also in sports.
Bach said, “India is an inspiring place. The entire Olympic community in India can be proud of the Asian Games performance.” The IOC president, in his address, highlighted the importance of inclusion of e-sports in the Olympics program, emphasising on the need to trust the mindset of the young people and empower them.
Notably during a press conference on Friday, Bach had said that cricket will be added to the 2028 Olympics since it is getting more popular all over the world. Bach also added that the current Cricket World Cup is being held in India successfully.
“Cricket is getting more popular all over the world and presently Cricket World Cup is being held in India successfully. So we look forward to cricket players participating in the 2028 Olympics. Indian-origin people play a lot of cricket and recently we organised a cricket tournament in Dallas too. Los Angeles had an opportunity for the same and they included it in the events,” said Bach.
PM Modi lauded the IOC’s decision and thanked them for including cricket, one of India’s most popular sports, in the Olympics.
“India is capable of hosting big global events. We have the capacity, the logistics and the infrastructure to host the Olympics,” he said.