CHENNAI: The Indian Olympic Association has finally submitted the letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee on October 1. While some of the other bidders had already identified the host cities, India as of September, did not submit the name of the region or city to IOC for the 2036 Olympics. However, it is not clear which city or region has been named in the letter of intent as an interested party as is the usual norm.
IOA president PT Usha confirmed that India has submitted a letter of intent to the Future Hosts Commission of IOC. She also said that IOA officials had attended the executive and observer programme organised by the IOC on the sidelines of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “These interactions and learning helped us to submit the letter of intent to host the 2036 Olympic Games in India,” she said in a short video.
With this, the IOA and all stakeholders will enter the next phase, the continuous dialogue process with interested parties and the bid will be non-edition specific as well (that is it could be awarded at a later date than 2036).
In the IOC’s document The Approach to Olympic Host Elections, it has said that informal dialogue would precede the continuous dialogue stage. “The Continuous Dialogue is non-committal and non-edition specific phase where the IOC supports the Interested Party to explore the feasibility of hosting sustainable Games…,” says the document. “To enter Continuous Dialogue with the IOC, the NOC is required to submit an official letter of intent to the IOC indicating the interested party (City or Region),” says the document. There would be constant monitoring and assessment by the Future Host Commission (FHC) as well.
Though Ahmedabad has been doing the rounds, the IOA has not yet confirmed if this would be the host city. Last year during the IOC Congress in Mumbai the Prime Minister had announced that India would bid for the 2036 Olympic Games. There is a possibility that the Games are held in two or three clusters.
Even after submitting the letter of intent, things will not be smooth because of the fierce infighting in the IOA. This newspaper had already pointed out how this had led to disruption in the process of bidding. With a majority of the Executive Council members revolting against the IOA president over the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer, it needs to be seen who would be entering into discussions with the IOC on a regular basis. The IOC, on the other hand, has acknowledged the appointment of the CEO. The EC had been questioning even Usha’s election as president.
There has been no EC meeting to formalise any decision taken in the IOA since January this year. It is interesting that despite this a letter of intent has been sent to the IOC. Also, a bid committee too needs to be formed and as of now, the IOA is yet to announce one.
The IOC had earlier told this newspaper in September that official support of the National Olympic Committee is a must. “As for 2036, the IOC is happy to see interest in hosting from India, with its huge passion for sport and youthful population. To move forward, any project from India would need the official support of the National Olympic Committee (NOC). The IOC has not been informed by the IOA of any selected region,” the IOC had said.
“There are a number of Interested Parties, including India, taking part in a non-committal Continuous Dialogue with the IOC. This helps the potential host to explore and improve its Olympic project, without linking it to any specific Games edition or year,” the IOC had earlier told this newspaper. It needs to be seen how the IOC takes this forward. It had already told the IOA to sort out their internal matter at the earliest.