India Is One of Seven Countries in Continuous Dialogue With the IOC for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, With Ahmedabad as Its Proposed Host City

On 6 October 2026 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named India as one of seven countries in “continuous dialogue” with it about hosting the 2036 Olympic Games, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has proposed Ahmedabad as the host city. No host has been chosen. The IOC says it will elect the 2036 host in mid-2029.

It would be the first Olympic Games India has hosted. The bid covers both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, according to the Sports Ministry, and it now has an IOC timetable with dated stages.

What the IOC announced on 6 October 2026

As reported by DT Next, the IOC’s statement listed seven “Interested Parties” in continuous dialogue: Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Türkiye. The Associated Press (AP) reported the host cities each country has in mind: Ahmedabad for India, Doha for Qatar, Cape Town for South Africa, Seoul for South Korea, Munich for Germany, Budapest for Hungary and Istanbul for Türkiye. No other party will be considered for 2036 after 31 October 2026, the IOC said.

Continuous dialogue is the first of three stages in the IOC’s new process. Its host selection handbook, dated October 2026, describes it as “a flexible, non-committal opportunity” to refine a project with IOC support, without a formal submission to the IOC. A party enters when its National Olympic Committee writes to the IOC, and the IOC publishes the party’s name.

Before this, AP reported, IOC President Kirsty Coventry halted the faster process of her predecessor Thomas Bach, which AP called more secretive, after taking office in June 2025. It had picked Brisbane as the 2032 host 11 years ahead without a contested vote. IOC members will choose the 2036 host in a contested vote in 2029.

The stages between now and the 2029 vote

Each step in the handbook’s calendar is dated:

• November 2026: the parties present their projects to the IOC’s Future Host Commission. India will present at the end of November, the IOA’s revised statement says, after it first said October.
• March 2027: the IOC Executive Board decides which parties go forward into a new stage called Strategic Dialogue, which runs to the end of 2028.
• January 2028: parties in that stage submit an initial file and core financial guarantees.
• Q2 and Q3 2028: the Future Host Commission visits the shortlisted regions.
• Q4 2028: the Executive Board opens Targeted Dialogue with a smaller group of Preferred Hosts.
• Q1 2029: the Preferred Hosts send final files with a full set of guarantees.
• Mid-2029: the IOC Session elects the host, with the date and place still to be confirmed, the handbook says.

According to the handbook, the Executive Board decides who advances and the IOC Session, the full membership, elects the host. It adds that taking part in Strategic Dialogue does not by itself commit the IOC to moving a party to the next stage. The Olympic Charter excerpt printed in the handbook requires a National Olympic Committee to approve any candidature from its country.

How India reached this stage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the IOC’s 141st Session in Mumbai on 14 October 2023, the first Session in India since New Delhi in 1983, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB). He said India “will leave no stone unturned” in preparing for the Olympics in 2036 and called it the dream of 140 crore (1.4 billion) Indians.

A news report citing a Sports Ministry source dated the IOA’s letter of intent to the IOC’s Future Host Commission as 1 October 2024, for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. On 25 November 2024, PIB recorded Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya telling World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, an IOC member, about that letter. In a written Rajya Sabha reply on 24 July 2025, Mandaviya said bidding is the IOA’s responsibility, that the IOC allots hosting rights through its selection process, and that the bid was in the continuous dialogue phase.

Cabinet decisions cover the wider programme. On 1 July 2025 the Union Cabinet approved the National Sports Policy 2025, which PIB says sets out a roadmap for India to be a strong contender at international events “including the 2036 Olympic Games”. On 31 July 2026 it approved an expanded Khelo India scheme and stronger assistance to national sports federations, with a combined outlay of ₹36,441 crore for 2026-27 to 2030-31. A Prime Minister’s Office release says the scheme lays the foundation for sporting ambitions that include the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the country’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Ahmedabad and the 2030 Commonwealth Games

The Cabinet approved the Commonwealth Games 2030 bid on 27 August 2025, naming Ahmedabad and citing the Narendra Modi Stadium, which hosted the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final. India won the Centenary Commonwealth Games for 2030 on 26 November 2025, the Prime Minister announced. Mandaviya called the Commonwealth Sport Executive Board’s recommendation of Ahmedabad, on 15 October 2025, a big boost to the Union Government’s vision of hosting the 2036 Olympics. He also pointed to the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, which he said drew over 2,200 athletes and support staff from more than 100 nations.

Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review of the 2036 bid on 27 August 2026, according to IANS, and wrote on X that the government was committed to making India a global sporting destination. Ahmedabad is set to host the 2029 Police and Fire Games ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

On 7 October 2026 Mandaviya and IOA President P T Usha announced the bid’s theme, “Rising Together”. Mandaviya said India’s ambition for 2036 “is rooted in a simple idea: that sport can help shape the future of our nation.” The IOA’s statement lists getting more young people to play sport rather than watch it, healthier communities, and education and jobs among its aims, Daily Jagran reported.

The IOC’s handbook lists the tests ahead. Continuous dialogue is judged on the venue master plan and athlete experience, the funding strategy, political and public support, and Games delivery capability. Public support is measured partly through an opinion poll commissioned by the IOC, and hosting experience over the last 10 years is one of the delivery measures.

The governance and performance issues mentioned in the dialogue

In a 24 July 2025 reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Sports Ministry said three issues had been mentioned in the continuous dialogue: governance, anti-doping measures and India’s performance at previous Olympic Games. It said the government is acting through reforms in the governance of sports bodies, a fair-play environment and support for athletes.

Parliament had passed the National Sports Governance Bill and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill by 12 August 2025. Mandaviya described the governance law as the single biggest reform in the sports sector since Independence. It was notified in the Gazette on 18 August 2025, and the provisions on the National Sports Board and the National Sports Tribunal took effect on 1 January 2026.

On results, Mandaviya outlined a strategy at the Khelo Bharat Conclave on 17 July 2025 for India to finish among the top 10 nations at the 2036 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. India’s current Olympic record includes the men’s hockey bronze at Paris 2024 and the javelin medals of Neeraj Chopra.

The next dates

India’s first presentation to the Future Host Commission is due at the end of November 2026. An IOC Executive Board shortlist is due in March 2027, and the host election at an IOC Session in mid-2029.