IOC plans to choose the host of the 2036 Olympic Games only in 2029, with stricter rules for candidates
The International Olympic Committee is preparing a significantly shorter, clearer and more demanding procedure for selecting the host of the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to a report by the Japanese agency Kyodo, which cites sources close to the matter, the IOC plans to choose the host city at its session in 2029, while Lausanne is finalising a revision of the existing candidature system. This would mean the decision would be made approximately seven years before the Games, a considerably different pace from some previous selections in which hosts received more than a decade to prepare.
The change does not mean only a different calendar, but also a different relationship with candidates. According to IOC documents and statements, future projects will have to show earlier and more clearly how they plan to address the capacity of sports venues, financing, public infrastructure, transport, accommodation, sustainability, security and long-term benefits for the population. Instead of a broad and unclear race in which favourites are shaped behind closed doors, the new model should include more structured phases, clearer criteria and greater involvement of IOC members before the final vote.
For now, no official shortlist for 2036 has been published. Various projects and interested parties remain in play, including India, Qatar and Germany, while other countries and cities monitoring the possibility of hosting after 2032 are also mentioned in the broader context. But the new message from Lausanne is that ambition alone will not be enough. Candidates will have to prove that they can organise the Games without unsustainable financial promises, without excessive construction and with a plan that will withstand political, economic and social scrutiny.
Why the IOC is changing the existing model
The revision of the host selection procedure is linked to the change in IOC leadership and long-standing criticism that the system has become too closed in recent years. Kirsty Coventry, a former Olympic swimmer from Zimbabwe, was elected IOC president in March 2025 and took office on 23 June 2025, according to the IOC's official announcement. She is the first woman and the first person from Africa to head the organisation, and one of the first institutional moves of her mandate was a review of the way future Olympic Games hosts are selected.
According to the IOC announcement from June 2025, after consultations with members of the organisation, Coventry announced a working group that is to re-examine when and how future hosts of the Summer and Winter Games should be selected. The IOC then stated that members had requested greater involvement in the process and a discussion on how far in advance the Games should be awarded. In practice, this opened the question of the balance between security for the host and transparency for the Olympic movement: a very long preparation period may give organisers more time, but it may also lock in a decision before the public and IOC members receive a full picture of the risks.
Brisbane is most often cited as an example of the old approach, having been chosen in 2021 to host the 2032 Games, eleven years in advance. In February 2026, the Associated Press reported that IOC members wanted to avoid repeating such an impression of a closed and accelerated process, especially in the race for 2036, in which there are several ambitious interested parties. The new approach therefore moves towards a more formal narrowing of the candidate field, more information for IOC members and a clearer explanation of why a particular project advances or drops out of the procedure.
A new transitional phase between talks and the final candidature
According to the proposal of the IOC Executive Board announced as part of the “Fit for the Future” process, a new phase of strategic dialogue is being introduced into the host selection. This phase would stand between the existing “continuous dialogue”, in which potential hosts hold non-binding talks with the IOC, and “targeted dialogue”, in which one or more preferred hosts enter a detailed final assessment. According to a report carried by PTI, strategic dialogue would enable the Executive Board to single out interested parties with developed projects and send them into deeper analysis.
Such a model should reduce uncertainty for both candidates and the IOC. Cities, regions or countries entering a more serious phase would have to present a project plan earlier, while IOC members would receive more regular information about the quality, financial framework and feasibility of the bid. This is important because an Olympic candidature is no longer only a competition of visions, but also a test of institutional capacity, political stability, infrastructural readiness and public trust.
The IOC already emphasises that future hosts should make maximum use of existing and temporary venues, and justify new construction with the long-term needs of the local community. According to the IOC's official guidelines for hosts, competitions can be distributed across several cities, regions or even countries if that is more sustainable and rational. This moves away from the old model in which one city had to build an almost complete Olympic ecosystem, often with high costs and later problems with unused facilities.
Capacity, money and infrastructure become the central test
In the new framework, three questions will be decisive: whether the candidate can accommodate and organise the Games, whether it can finance them without unconvincing assumptions, and whether it has infrastructure that already exists or can be justifiably developed. Capacity does not include only stadiums and arenas, but also transport links, airports, hotel accommodation, the Olympic Village, medical and security systems, and the ability to manage dozens of sports in a short period. Financing will have to be presented through realistic public and private sources, state guarantees, an operational budget and a legacy plan after the Games end.
Infrastructure is particularly sensitive because previous Olympic candidatures often promised long-term benefits, but individual projects after the Games faced high maintenance costs. The IOC therefore emphasises existing and temporary venues, climate-responsible projects and benefits for the community in its official materials. For candidates for 2036, this means it will not be enough to show attractive stadium renders. They will have to show what they already have, what they truly need to build, who will pay for it and how the facilities will be used for decades after the closing ceremony.
The issue of costs is not merely an administrative detail. The Oxford Olympics Study 2024, published by Alexander Budzier and Bent Flyvbjerg, states that the Olympic Games continue to carry high costs and frequent budget overruns, despite reforms encouraging the use of existing infrastructure. The authors warn that costs and financial risks are one of the main challenges to the sustainability of the Olympic model. This is precisely why the new emphasis on financing and infrastructure is not a technical change, but an attempt to make hosting more convincing for the public, governments and IOC members themselves.
India and Qatar among the most visible candidates
India is one of the most active candidates in the process for 2036. According to the Olympic Council of Asia, the Indian Olympic Association sent a letter of intent to the IOC's Future Host Commission on 1 November 2024, expressing interest in organising the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In later appearances, Indian officials linked the project with Ahmedabad, a city in the state of Gujarat, but the final status of the candidature will depend on IOC rules and the further stages of the process.
Qatar has also publicly confirmed its participation in talks with the IOC. The Qatar Olympic Committee announced on 22 July 2025 that it was participating in ongoing talks as part of the host selection process for 2036. In that announcement, the president of the Qatar Olympic Committee and chairman of the bid committee, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, stated that Qatar has 95 percent of the necessary sports infrastructure and a national plan for the full readiness of facilities. The Qatari committee also highlights its experience in organising major sporting events, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2006 Asian Games.
Germany is preparing its own national process for a possible candidature for 2036, 2040 or 2044. According to the German Olympic Sports Confederation, concepts connected with Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and the Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr area are under consideration, with the goal of developing a project that could enter continuous dialogue with the IOC. The German case shows that the new Olympic race is not taking place only between countries that want the Games for the first time, but also between countries seeking to return as hosts, though with a stronger emphasis on public support and cost sustainability.
The shortlist has not yet officially opened
Despite great interest, it has not currently been officially confirmed which candidates will enter the shortlist for 2036. According to available information, the 146th IOC Session in Lausanne on 24 and 25 June 2026 is expected to consider reforms to the Games programme and the procedure for selecting future hosts. If IOC members accept the new model, candidates will receive a clearer framework for preparation, and the Olympic public will gain more precise insight into how potential hosts are compared.
This is particularly important for projects that rely on large public investments. A candidature for the Olympic Games is rarely only a sports project; it affects urban planning, housing, public transport, security, tourism, tax obligations and international reputation. The new procedure should therefore reduce the space for vague political messages and increase the importance of verifiable plans. A candidate that wants the 2036 Games will have to convince the IOC that it can organise an event of global scale, but also convince its own public that the costs and obligations have long-term justification.
For the IOC, the stakes are also high. After Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032, the choice of host for 2036 will be the first major decision on the Summer Games in the full mandate of the new president. If the decision is indeed made in 2029, the organisation will have three years to shape a new, more credible contest. That process could determine not only who will get the Games, but also what kind of Olympic Games there will be in the next decade: a more expensive symbol of prestige or a more sustainable project that must prove its value before receiving the Olympic rings.
Sources:
- Kyodo News / World News – report on the plan to choose the host of the 2036 Games at the IOC Session in 2029 (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement of the “Fit for the Future” methodology and changes to the host selection procedure (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official guidelines on the process and requirements for future Olympic Games hosts (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement on the election of Kirsty Coventry as IOC president (link)
- NDTV / PTI – report on the proposal for strategic dialogue in the reformed host selection process (link)
- Olympic Council of Asia – information on India's letter of intent to host the 2036 Olympic Games (link)
- Qatar Olympic Committee – confirmation of Qatar's participation in the dialogue process for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games (link)
- German Olympic Sports Confederation – information on the German process and concepts for a possible candidature (link)
- Budzier and Flyvbjerg, Oxford Olympics Study 2024 – analysis of the costs and budget overruns of the Olympic Games (link)