Mansukh Mandaviya, PT Usha Say India’s 2036 Olympics Bid Will Centre On ‘Rising Together’ Vision

India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics will centre on the vision of “Rising Together”, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Indian Olympic Association President P T Usha on Wednesday saying the first project presentation to the IOC’s Future Host Commission will be made at the end of this month.

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday said India is among seven countries with a stated interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics and has been invited to present its Games project next month. Germany, Qatar and Turkiye were also named, along with Hungary, Republic of Korea and South Africa.

Ahmedabad is India’s city of choice for the Games, which have never been held in the country before. India submitted its Expression of Interest to host the Games in 2024. The October presentation marks the next formal step in a process that will decide the host in 2029 after a revamped selection cycle that the IOC restarted this year.

Bid Vision And Pitch

Mandaviya set out the bid’s stated purpose in a press release issued by the IOA. “India's ambition for 2036 is rooted in a simple idea: that sport can help shape the future of our nation.

Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games would inspire millions of young Indians to participate in sport, strengthen healthier and more active communities, and create new opportunities for our youth across education, employment and social development,” stated Mandaviya in a press release issued by the IOA.

Usha said the IOA feels deeply honoured by the IOC’s recognition of India’s aspirations and added that the country sees itself as part of a wider field of future hosts. “...proud to be part of an exceptional group of potential hosts for future editions of the Games,” she said.

She then laid out the theme of the campaign. “For us, 'Rising Together' is not simply a slogan -- it is a powerful commitment to unite India's energy, ambition and diversity behind a shared Olympic dream.

“As we develop our vision for 2036, we want to create a Games that reflects the confidence of a young, dynamic and rising India, while contributing to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements’ ambition to reach new generations, new communities and new horizons around the world.

“We look forward to continuing our exchange with the IOC and to present our ambition to the Future Host Commission for the first time at the end of October,” she added.

IOC Review Criteria

The IOC has spelt out how it will judge the projects. It said bids will be assessed on technical factors such as venue master-plan and athlete experience, funding strategy, political and public support, Games delivery capabilities and legacy strategy to create long-term benefits for host communities.

The field remains crowded. Hungary, Qatar, Republic of Korea and South Africa are the other contenders for the hosting rights, alongside India, Germany and Turkiye.

The process has also changed. The next phase after the November presentations will be Strategic Dialogue instead of Targetted Dialogue, while the latter will remain the final phase of the decision-making process in the revamped host selection system. The last phase will begin in 2028.

Selection Timeline Update

The IOC had paused the host selection process in 2025. It did so to seek more elaborate feedback from member nations before moving ahead.

That pause has since ended. The process was restarted in July this year, reopening the race for the 2036 Games.

The timeline is now fixed. The host of the 2036 Olympics will be known in mid-2029 after a vote during the IOC session that year.

Transformation Through Sport

The IOA has framed the bid as more than a hosting effort. It said that “Rising Together” reflects the belief that 2036 can be a moment of India’s transformation through sport.

The body tied that goal to a wider social role for sport. “For India, hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games would be a generational opportunity to place sport at the heart of national life,” the body stated.

It also linked the project to participation and jobs. “The project is designed to act as a catalyst for a wider sporting transformation: inspiring millions of young people to move from watching sport to practising it, supporting healthier and more active communities, and making sport a driver of education and professional opportunities,” it added.