New Delhi, India, November 27, 2024: World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said he was delighted with India’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics but cautioned the South Asian nation that organising an Olympics was one of the world’s most complex projects.
On Monday, November 25, Coe, whose grandfather was Indian, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country’s sports minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, in Delhi where the prospect of India’s bid for the 2036 Games was discussed.
“I was very pleased that India is obviously keen to one day stage an Olympic Games,” Coe, who headed the bidding and organising committee that delivered the hugely successful 2012 London Olympics, told Reuters.
“We know that the Olympic Games is a unique sporting event and it doesn’t surprise me that a country with the type of ambitions that India has, and the vision for sports beyond the field of play and into the delivery of social and economic benefits, would look at staging a Games,” said Coe, 68, a two-time Olympic 1,500 metres champion.
Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are also among countries that have shown interest in hosting the 2036 Games. Los Angeles will host the 2028 extravaganza while Brisbane will stage the 2032 Olympics.