India’s ambition to host the 2036 Summer Olympics has moved decisively from aspiration to campaign. In the space of a few weeks, an Indian delegation has formally pitched Ahmedabad to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a high-profile visit to Australia to sell India’s Olympic dream on the international stage, including a symbolic stop at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ahmedabad Steps Forward
The delegation’s visit to IOC headquarters marked the clearest signal yet that Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, is India’s chosen candidate. Reports place the proposed budget between Rs 34,700 crore and Rs 64,000 crore, covering venues, infrastructure and Games operations. The IOC is expected to select the 2036 host around 2029, giving India a multi-year runway to strengthen its case against rival bidders from around the world.
India’s strategy leans heavily on demonstrated capability. By hosting dozens of major international events across multiple cities through 2025 and 2026, the country is deliberately building the operational muscle and world-class facilities that Olympic hosting demands, answering the readiness question before evaluators ever ask it.
Diplomacy and the Modi Push
Modi’s Australia visit wove sport directly into statecraft. Alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, he launched a new Roadmap on Sport Cooperation covering sports science, training, facilities and talent development, drawing on the expertise of a nation that delivered the Sydney 2000 Games and will stage Brisbane 2032, where preparations are already moving into gear. His appearance at the MCG, one of world sport’s great cathedrals, was a carefully chosen backdrop for declaring that India is striving to bring the Games home in 2036.
The sporting groundwork at home tells the same story. Cricket’s return for LA28, where India have already secured qualification, gives the world’s most populous nation a marquee Olympic connection, while the sports ministry is tightening athlete selection systems ahead of Los Angeles as part of a broader professionalisation drive.
The Long Game to 2036
Challenges remain substantial. India must convince the IOC on sustainability, governance and delivery, areas where past hosting experiences at other multi-sport events drew scrutiny. Competition for 2036 is expected to be fierce, with interest from the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
Yet the direction of travel is unmistakable. A named candidate city, a formal pitch in Lausanne, prime ministerial advocacy abroad and a crowded calendar of test events at home together amount to the most serious Olympic bid India has ever assembled. The decision may be three years away, but the race for 2036 has clearly begun, and India intends to run it from the front.
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