IOA submits formal bid to host 2032 Olympics on Indian soil
For the first time in its history, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have submitted a formal bid to host the 2032 edition of the Olympics on home soil to IOC president, Thomas Bach. IOA Secretary General, Rajeev Mehta, revealed they were ādead seriousā about hosting the games in the next decade.
After hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Game and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the last decade, Indian officials have set themselves a target to host the 2032 Olympics next. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have submitted a formal request to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2032 Games on Indian soil.
IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta had a meeting with the three-member bid committee of the IOC headed by Jacqueline Barrett, Associate Director Olympic Games/Olympic Candidatures, during a Board meeting in Tokyo earlier this month.Ā
"We are dead serious about this bid for the 2032 Olympics. So, we have already submitted to the IOC the letter expressing our interest in hosting 2032 Olympic Games. I had a meeting with the Bid Committee of the IOC. They welcomed the move and said that India should have hosted an Olympic Games much earlier," Mehta told PTI.Ā
Earlier, IOA president, Narinder Batra, had told visiting IOC president Thomas Bach that India would consider making a formal bid to host the 2032 Games. This is the first time that the IOA has officially submitted a bid to host the International competition. Mumbai and New Delhi are the two major venues that the IOA officials have in mind for now.
"At the first stage, a country expresses its interest to bid for the Olympics and at a later stage the proposed host city or cities is mentioned in the bid. India has not bid or expressed interest to host Olympic Games earlier," Mehta said.
The bid process for the 2032 Olympics will start in 2022 and a host city will be announced in 2025. Apart from India, 2018 Asian Games hosts' Indonesia, China's Shanghai, Brisbane in Australia, North and South Korea and Germany also have plans to host the 2032 Games. Meanwhile, the IOA has already started planning for the bidding process and the upcoming General Body Meeting on December 22 is expected to pass a resolution to formally approach the government in order to garner some
"We are going to approach the government to back the bid after our GBM passes a resolution to that effect. The bidding process will start in 2022 but before that we have to get the nod from the central government that it will back the bid," Mehta said.Ā
"We have to get the letter of backing from the central government, from the state government where the proposed venue is located and even from the Leader of the Opposition Party. We also have to get a lot of guarantees from various government agencies. But all these will start only if the government says it will back such a bid," added Mehta.Ā
