Thomas Bach can start preparing his boxes with a light heart: the future looks good on the front of the candidatures for the Olympic Games. And his departure next June from the presidential office should not change the course of history.
Two pieces of news, coming from two very distant parts of the planet, have reinforced the trend in recent days. They concern two successive editions of the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The first does not bring anything very new to the file, other than a confirmation. But it is important. Daily life India Today reports, based on a source close to the matter, that the Indian Olympic Committee (IOA) formalized its candidacy for the Summer Games in 2036 with a letter of intent sent to Lausanne. Written on October 1, it was addressed to the commission of future host of the body.
According to the source cited by India Today, “This monumental opportunity could bring substantial benefits, fostering economic growth, social progress and youth empowerment across the country.”
India is therefore officially in the race, having entered the dialogue phase with the IOC, failing to launch into the campaign, a concept now excluded from the Olympic vocabulary. Nothing really new. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the process himself in October 2023, taking advantage of the IOC session being held in Mumbai to display the country’s ambitions without tongue in cheek.
Since then, things have taken their course. PT Usha, the president of the national Olympic committee, recently recalled on her X account: an IOA team was present at the Paris 2024 Games as part of the observer program proposed by the IOC. The Indians are therefore well in the loop.
Problem: The Indian Olympic Committee is currently going through a period of bad weather. Undermined by internal quarrels, it took months to appoint a general director, and proved incapable of providing Lausanne with its annual accounts. Result: the IOC suspended its subsidies to the IOA as part of Olympic Solidarity. In the event of a suspension of the National Olympic Committee, not completely impossible at this point, the Summer Games bid would be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Other news, more distant: Germany continues to think about the Games. Not really a scoop. But, new this week, she is thinking about it in high places and is now giving herself a date.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly took a position in favor of a candidacy, evoking not the 2036 edition, too directly associated with the Nazi Games in Berlin in 1936, but rather the following one.
« In 2040, Germany will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its reunificationhe declared at the start of the week in Berlin. There is no better opportunity to hold the Games in Germany. It’s time. We have tried several times since Munich in 1972. Next time I think it should work. Our message is clear: politicians support the Olympic Games in Germany ».
The Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, hit the nail on the head, taking the example of the Paris 2024 Games to highlight the impact that the Olympic and Paralympic event could have on society. “ In France, all children in all schools will be able to exercise for 30 minutes a day in the futureshe noted. A lot of money has been invested in sports facilities ».
What’s next? Very immediate. The German Olympic Committee (DOSB) is due to meet on December 7 for its annual general meeting. On the agenda: setting up a timetable for a bid for the Games. Logically, a host city, or region, will be chosen next year. The German government has already accepted the principle of funding, to the tune of 6.95 million euros until 2027, for the candidacy campaign.
