Rising Together: How India plans to bid to host the 2036 Olympics
India has presented “Rising Together” as the vision for its proposed bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) viewing sport as a catalyst for wider social and sporting development.
The vision, targeting Ahmedabad in Gujarat, was unveiled on Wednesday, a day after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed India as one of the seven countries currently in continuous dialogue over the organization of the 2036 games.
Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of South Africa and Turkey are the seven interested parties in the process, the IOC said on Tuesday.
India submitted its expression of interest to host the Games in 2024. Its proposal has since been developed in collaboration with the IOC over the past 18 months.
The next step will be to present India to the future IOC host committee. The IOA said it expects to present its ambitions for the first time at the end of October.
The IOA’s vision of “Rising Together” is built on the idea of using the Games to increase participation in sports in India while offering the Olympic Movement access to new audiences and communities.
PT Usha, IOA president, said the vision aims to bring together India’s “energy, ambition and diversity” behind the Olympic project.
“For us, ‘Rising Together’ is not just a slogan – it is a strong commitment to unite the energy, ambition and diversity of India behind a common Olympic dream,” said Usha.
She added that India wants to host games that reflect the country’s young population while helping the Olympic and Paralympic movement reach new generations.
“If we rise together – with our athletes, our people, our cities and the Olympic and Paralympic movement – the possibilities are limitless,” said Usha.
India’s proposal also emphasizes the potential domestic impact of hosting the Games. The IOA said the project was designed to encourage young people to move from watching sport to participating in it, while creating educational and employment opportunities.
SPORTS CAN HELP SHAPE INDIA’S FUTURE: MANDAVIYA
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said India’s proposal was based on the role sports could play in the country’s development.
“India’s ambition for 2036 is rooted in a simple idea: that sports can help shape the future of our nation,” Mandaviya said.
“Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games would inspire millions of young Indians to participate in sport, foster healthier and more active communities and create new opportunities for our youth in education, employment and social development.”
The proposal also presents the case of India from the perspective of the Olympic movement. The IOA said hosting the Games will connect the movement with one of the youngest and most digitally connected populations in the world, potentially bringing new athletes, audiences and partners into the Olympic family.
The 2036 process was revised after IOC president Kirsty Coventry initiated a “pause and review” following her election last year. The new process is overseen by a prospective host committee and involves several stages before the final host is selected.
The IOC said on Tuesday that the seven interested parties would be judged on technical factors, including their master venue plans, athletes’ experience, funding strategies, political and public support, capacity to deliver the Games and legacy plans.
Projects will also be assessed in terms of their broader vision and alignment with local development plans and the goals of the Olympic Movement.
The IOC Executive Committee is expected to select stakeholders to move from the Continuous Dialogue to the Strategic Dialogue by March 2027. Preferred hosts will then be invited to a Focused Dialogue in December 2028, with the IOC members expected to select the 2036 host in mid-2029.
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