(Bombay) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his country would apply to host the 2036 Olympic Games on Saturday during a session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Bombay.
“India is very enthusiastic about hosting the Olympics” and “will spare no effort” to do so, he said.
With 1.4 billion people, India is the most populous country in the world and has never hosted the Olympics.
This would make it the fourth Asian nation to have this honor, after Japan, South Korea and China.
The body must approve on Monday the integration of cricket into the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the main innovation of an Olympic program extended beyond 35 sports, a record in the history of the Games. However, this sport is extremely popular throughout the Commonwealth, particularly the Indian subcontinent, notably in Ahmedabad, which has a huge stadium that can accommodate up to 130,000 spectators, and where the World Championships are currently taking place.
India’s candidacy had been expected for several months. In December 2022, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur told the Times of India newspaper that it was the “right time” to be a candidate for “the organization of the biggest global sporting event”.
“If India puts in this much effort to promote sports, I can assure you that we will not just host the Olympics, but we will host them in a big way,” he had added.
