In news : Recently, the Delhi government pledged to to launch a bid for the 2048 Olympic Games to mark 100 years of India’s independence
Key updates
- The Delhi government said that it will bring sports facilities and the city infrastructure to such a level that the national capital can bid to host the 39th Olympics in 2048.
- A vision has been provided in the budget that the 2048 Olympic Games should be held in Delhi
- Government’s announcement of a long term goal to host the Olympics is not new. For insttance, China hosted the Beijing Games in 2008 only after it began preparing for it through its ‘Olympic Strategy’ formulated in 1985
India’s previous attempts to host Olympics
- In the last decade, India has considered hosting the sporting extravaganza twice. The country first pitched itself for the 2024 Olympics, with Delhi and Ahmedabad as possible candidates. But that bid fizzled out even before any serious consideration was given to it.
- In 2018, then Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis pitched Mumbai as a potential host for the 2032 Games
International Olympic Committee (IOC) & Selection process of host cities
- An IOC committee gets into discussions with the cities interested to host the Games. The panel vets the bids and engages with the governments and other stakeholders of the interested countries. Based on their observations, the committee recommends a potential host, which the Executive Board then has to take a call on
- IOC, which is currently in the process of finalising the venue for the 2032 edition, hasn’t yet invited bids for the 2048 event.
- After it chooses the host for 2032, the IOC will first select venues for the 2036, 2040 and 2044 Games before it begins the search for the city to conduct the event in 2048.
- Hungary, Qatar, Indonesia and Germany were some of the other countries in contention for the 2032 Olympics, and could get a look-in for the subsequent editions.
The International Olympic Committee
It is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Founded by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas in 1894, it is the authority responsible for organising the modern Summer and Winter Olympic GamesThe International Olympic Committee was created on 23 June 1894; the first Olympic Games of the modern era opened in Athens on 6 April 1896The IOC President presides over all its activities, while the IOC Session and Executive Board are responsible for taking the main decisions for the organisation.
