The International Olympic Committee has approved a revamped bidding process for the 2036 Summer Olympics, introducing a new “strategic dialogue” phase aimed at strengthening host selection and improving long-term planning.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, Thailand’s IOC member, said the reform was endorsed at the 146th IOC Session in Lausanne, chaired by IOC president Kirsty Coventry.
Under the new framework, prospective hosts will first enter a strategic dialogue phase from March 2027, during which candidate cities must complete questionnaires and provide key financial guarantees before progressing to a final targeted dialogue and evaluation.
The IOC expects to elect the host city for the 2036 Summer Games in mid-2029.
Khunying Patama said the changes build on reforms introduced in 2019 that shifted the Olympic bidding process towards sustainability and greater benefits for host communities, while providing governments and Olympic stakeholders with a clearer timeline and reducing uncertainty.
With the 2028 Olympics taking place in Los Angeles and the 2032 Games scheduled for Brisbane, Australia, the 2036 edition is the next one available.
Interest from Asia
Khunying Patama said several Asian countries have already expressed interest in bidding for the 2036 Games, although no official candidate has yet been confirmed.
Various media reports have identified Hungary and Qatar as possible bidders, as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India.
The 2032 summer Games were awarded 11 years in advance but the 2030 and 2034 winter Games had six and 10 years’ notice, respectively.
That variability stemmed from a very flexible, largely confidential procedure in which the IOC Session only stepped in at the end of the process to ratify the executive board’s choice.
The IOC Session in Lausanne also approved extensions to the memberships of Sebastian Coe and Tricia Smith until the end of their current terms in office.
In addition, Ivo Ferriani was elected an honorary IOC member and, together with Luc Tardif, received the Olympic Order during the session.
