The 2036 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXVI Olympiad, is a future international multi-sport event. This edition celebrates the centennial of the Olympic torch relay, a tradition that began in 1936. The host city will be selected in mid-2029.
Bidding process The new IOC bidding process was approved at the 134th IOC Session on 24 June 2019 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The key proposals, driven by the relevant recommendations from Olympic Agenda 2020, are: Establish a permanent, ongoing dialogue to explore and create interest among cities/regions/countries and National Olympic Committees for any Olympic event Create two Future Host Commissions (Summer and Winter Games) to oversee interest in future Olympic events and report to the IOC executive board Give the IOC Session more influence by having non-executive board members form part of the Future Host Commissions.
The IOC also modified the Olympic Charter to increase its flexibility by removing the date of election from 7 years before the games and changing the host as a city from a single city/region/country to multiple cities, regions, or countries.
Reforms The change in the bidding process was criticised by members of the German bid as "incomprehensible" and hard to surpass "in terms of non-transparency". Following the election of Kirsty Coventry as IOC president in 2025, she announced a review of issues facing the Olympics, including the new bidding process. Details on host city election reform were partly announced at the 145th IOC Session in 2026, which included more transparency and a proposed "short-list stage". The short-list stage, referred to as "strategic dialogue", will begin in March 2027, with targeted dialogue to start in late 2028.
Future Host Commission The full composition of the Future Host Commission for the Summer Games, to oversee the selection process, is as follows:
+ Future Host Commission for the 2036 Summer Olympics IOC members (5) Other members (4) Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (chair) Anita DeFrantz Filomena Fortes Yuki Ota Luis Mejía Oviedo Sarah Walker (Athletes) David Lappartient (ASOIF) Paul Tergat (NOCs) Andrew Parsons (IPC)
Dialogue stages The new IOC bidding system is divided into 3 dialogue stages are: Continuous Dialogue: Non-committal discussions between the IOC and Interested Parties (City/Region/Country/NOC interested in hosting) concerning hosting future Olympic events. Strategic Dialogue: In-depth evaluation of detailed plans by shortlisted, interested parties in terms of alignment with IOC's strategic direction. Targeted Dialogue: Targeted discussions with one or more Interested Parties (called Preferred Host(s)), as instructed by the IOC Executive Board.
Timeline 31 October 2026: Deadline for Interested Parties to be considered by the IOC November 2026: Virtual presentations by Interested Parties to the Future Host Commission March 2027: Deadline for the IOC's feasability assessments and opening of Strategic Dialogue April 2027: Update to the IOC Session by Future Host Commission chair January 2028: Submission of Initial File and core guarantees January/March 2028: Update to IOC Members by Future Host Commission chair April/September 2028: Future Host Commission site visits 10 - 13 July 2028: Reports to the IOC Session by Interested Parties December 2028: Future Host Commission report & Targeted Dialogue to be opened with a select number of Preferred Hosts December 2028: Update to IOC Members by Future Host Commission chair January/March 2029: Final submission with full guarantee file March/June 2029: IOC Members’ Briefing & Presentation to ASOIF & Presentation to ANOC One month before IOC Session 2029: Future Host Commission final report Mid-2029: Presentation to IOC Session & Host election & Signing of the Host Contract
Confirmed bids The following are parties that have been in continuous dialogue with the IOC, in the interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics: City Country National Olympic Committee StatusAhmedabad Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Interested partyIndia had previously expressed interest in hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics but later chose to bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics instead. In 2021, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) hired PwC as its consultant, which identified 22 sites in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar with a potential to host the Olympics. A large sports complex named the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is being built in Ahmedabad, which will include several multi-sport venues. Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the SVPSE will be developed to meet Olympic standards.
In October 2021, Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra stated that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad could be the venue for the opening ceremony of the Games. In August 2023, Anurag Thakur, India's minister of sports, backed Ahmedabad to be the host city. India has also shown interest in bidding for the 2030 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2038 Asian Games.
In October 2023, at the 141st IOC Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally declared India's interest in bidding for the 2036 Olympics. If India's bid is approved, it would be the first time India will host the Olympic Games. The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Authority of India has proposed including some native Indian sports in the 2036 Olympics, including yoga, kabaddi, and kho-kho, as well as other sports popular in India, such as chess, T20 cricket, and squash (the latter two will be featured at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles).
In September 2024, The New Indian Express reported that official bid committees had yet to be formed for the 2036 bid, and that there had been little to no support from the Indian Olympic Association for the bid. There are also concerns that despite venue plans being shown for Ahmedabad, no host city has been decided as of yet, with the IOC telling the newspaper that they had “not been informed by the IOA of any selected region”. During the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly in September, India's Union Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya said that “under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi we are going to bid for the 2030 Youth Olympics, but our focus remains on hosting the 2036 Olympics.”
On 1 October 2024, the Indian Olympic Association officially submitted a letter of intent to the Future Host Commission. In December 2024, the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Khadse, said that the Government of India is planning to improve and increase the number of sports facilities to Olympic-level standards across India. In that same month, World Athletics president and IOC president candidate, Sebastian Coe, said that India could bolster its bid by successfully hosting more international-level sporting events, as the Athletics Federation of India had submitted a bid for the 2028 World Athletics U20 Championships and other athletics events.
In January 2025, a multi-city bid for India was proposed, with events held in the following cities: Ahmedabad (aquatics, athletics, basketball, shooting, tennis, urban sports, volleyball, and hosting the main Olympic Village), Bhubaneswar (field hockey, football), Bhopal (rowing), Mumbai (cricket, football), Pune (canoeing), and in March 2025, Goa (football, sailing) and the Taj Mahal in Agra (archery) would be added. This approach would fall in line with the Indian government's plan to increase sports engagement across the country.
On 30 January 2025, Bhupendrabhai Patel, and members of the Athletics Federation of India, met with Commonwealth Games Federation vice-president Chris Jenkins in Gandhinagar to discuss a bid for the state of Gujarat to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which could be a potential stepping stone for the state to host the Olympics in the future.
In March 2025, Ahmedabad municipal commissioner has proposed land acquisition of Asaram Bapu's ashram and surrounding areas in Motera, Ahmedabad for the 2036 Olympics. Earlier, Godhavi village farmers had protested against land acquisition, citing exploitation disguised as development. Such land acquisition frenzy has been criticized as against sustainability and inclusive principles of IOC. A report from The Times of India revealed a potential estimated budget for the Games if India was to host, which came up to ₹64,000 crore ($7.5 billion), while the 2030 Commonwealth Games bid expression of interest was submitted.
India has made bids to host other major sporting events as part of its goal to host the Olympics; in November 2025, Ahmedabad was awarded the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. In May 2026, a bid was submitted for Ahmedabad to host the 2038 Asian Games. A letter of intent to host the 2036 Olympics was also submitted, with Indian officials promising better governance across its federations, improved anti-doping controls, and higher athlete performance in sporting events.
In July 2025, an Indian delegation travelled to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and confirmed that Ahmedabad would be the host city for their bid.
India has also bid for other international competitions before 2036. The bid has received support from the governments of Australia, New Zealand, and France. Budapest Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) Interested partyAfter hosting the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Budapest is hoping these events will help them achieve a long-term goal of hosting the Summer Olympics.
In August 2024, the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, confirmed on RTL that he backed Budapest hosting the 2036 Olympics, but a bid would only be possible if the Prime Minister of Hungary increases the funding needed to bid for and host the Games, as it is being withheld by an opposing political party. In November 2024, the Curia of Hungary ruled that a referendum to determine whether Budapest should bid may be held, overturning a decision that was made by the General Assembly of Budapest. Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Interested partyDuring the 2024 Summer Olympics, Mustapha Berraf, the president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, mentioned during a press conference that Cape Town was considering a bid for a future Summer Olympic Games, without specifying an edition. Cape Town previously bid for the 2004 Summer Olympics, losing to Athens.
On 22 November 2024, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president, Barry Hendricks, alongside CEO Nozipho Jafta and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, met with the IOC's Future Host Commission to explore the potential opportunities and requirements for South Africa to host the 2036 Olympics. According to IOC President Thomas Bach, "Africa is on the rise and South Africa has the stability, the infrastructure and vision to stage an Olympics".
On 2 December 2024, Hendricks confirmed that South Africa's Olympic bid would be launched at some point after February 2025.
On 1 July 2025, Hendricks told SABC Sport that South Africa's campaign to host the 2036 Olympics had been paused. The committee would instead focusing on hosting smaller sporting events, such as the World Volleyball Championships, as a means to prepare a bid for the 2040 Olympics. The committee also revealed that has been invited to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
On 12 November 2025, the Cabinet of South Africa would approve the country's bid to host either in 2036 or 2040. Cabinet members said that they had entered into "continuous dialogue" with the International Olympic Committee (despite the process for future bids being on hold at that time), and that they were "confident of South Africa's readiness to host the Olympics given South Africa's available infrastructure".