Emir of Qatar Promotes 2036 Olympic Bid During United Nations Address

The United Nations General Assembly in New York City is usually but not always a staid affair full of speeches that focus on politics, the environment, the state of affairs of the world — but seldom is sports as openly discussed as this year by the Emir of Qatar, giving a hint to what could be the most hotly anticipated future Olympic bidding contests since Paris vs. Los Angeles ended up with this decade’s Summer Games setup.

HH Sheikh Tamin Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, used his speech to promote November’s Second World Summit for Social Development with the following pitch, in part: “the confidence placed on us by the international community rests on a track record of successful organizational achievements the state of Qatar has realized over the years. Building on this solid legacy, we have submitted our bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games, out of conviction that sport is not a mere competition but a bridge for connecting peoples and a platform for promoting peace and understanding. Our hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022 is a testament of our ability to turn major sporting events into arena for communication and rapprochement among diverse cultures.”

Hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games would come 14 years after Qatar staged the World Cup. Qatar’s bid committee upon its announcement of interest didn’t address when in 2036 it would propose to host the Games. The World Cup had to be held in November and December because of the extreme heat in the region.

Until recently, the IOC’s future host process was entirely in the hands of the Future Host Commission. New IOC President Kirsty Coventry said a review of the process would be undertaken because “members want to be engaged more in the process,” which has set off more than a little intrigue into how the candidacy of cities could change and, for the first time in a while, set off a genuine race to the host the Games.

Doha joins Ahmedabad in India as having formalized campaigns. Ahmedabad, not New Delhi, is India’s candidate to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, a bid that is widely expected to win. India’s candidature for 2036 includes a delegation already visiting the IOC and pledging to fight doping with Indian sport. Olympic observers also have noted the friendship between Coventry and Nita Ambani, an influential IOC member from India, who was believed to help Coventry get the votes needed to win the IOC presidency.

Given the amplification of its respective campaigns, Doha and Ahmedabad are seen as the current front-runners for 2036. However, if you’re interested in a dark horse, there could be two in Budapest and Istanbul.

Budapest is the home for three international federations with the recent move of World Aquatics, joining judo and weightlifting. The city has spent considerable time, effort and expense to host major international sports including the 2023 World Athletics Championships and World Aquatics Championships in 2017, 2022 and slated for 2027. Budapest is also hosting the 2026 Champions League final and 2026 World Athletics “Ultimate Championship.” The city also will host multiple UIPM international championships in the coming years. One thing to watch is that the Momentum Movement, formed from the end of Budapest’s 2024 Olympic bid, said last month it is forcing a referendum on Budapest’s 2036 bid.

Istanbul will host the 2027 European Games and Turkey will co-host soccer’s 2032 European Championship with Italy. Istanbul officials have said it wants to bid for the 2036 Olympics, having finished second to Tokyo in the then-bid contest to host the 2020 Games. Istanbul has been put forth as a candidate to host the Games four times previously without success; recent discord, to put it mildly, in Türkiye, including the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, cost the city the chance to host SportAccord this summer and would likely be seen as a major deterrent to its future host chances.

Regardless, the idea of a true bid contest — depending on the IOC’s potential actions to change the process — could make for international intrigue compared to the rather staid process of how things were done under former president Thomas Bach.

Beyond 2036 to 2038 … and Salt Lake 2050?

Bidding for future Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games seems much more clear, with the first available Games being 2038 before what could be a potential host rotation. The question then is, with potential changes to the host selection process, who would be interested in 2038.

The main contender would obviously be Switzerland, which was given privileged candidacy status in 2023. The Swiss campaign was based around the country hosting the bid, which at the time of the 2023 award gave the IOC Future Host Commission pause. That it would get that reaction is slightly humorous in that Lausanne is five hours via train to St. Moritz; the IOC will have the 2030 Winter Games in southern France with two of the hubs, Nice and Grenoble, further away. The 2026 Games in Italy also has been noted for its far-flung distances between sport clusters.

Clearly there are more pressing matters for the IOC. However, should the Swiss privileged candidacy not result in an award, the question would then be who could be interested? There could be appeal to Sapporo, with the issues of Tokyo’s 2020 Games hosting behind them. In theory the IOC could stay in Europe and re-engage with Sweden; however, the 2023 decision in favor of France and Switzerland led to some raw feelings in Sweden.

The idea may also seem fanciful to look beyond 2038 but some in the U.S. Olympic movement are. During the recent USOPC Assembly in Salt Lake City, the latest meeting of the steering committee for the 2034 Games was held. It was notable that though those Games are more than eight years away, at least one comment was made in jest — or was it in jest? — about how a successful 2034 Games would be the perfect jumping-off point to prepare for Salt Lake hosting the Games for a third time … in 2050.

Can’t blame people for planning ahead, can you?