Castles in the air over India’s 2036 Olympics bid
There is a tussle within the Indian Olympic Association while a lobby of builders and businesses is all set to profit from Gujarat as the decided venue.
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If the bee’s knees of Ahmedabad – politicians, bureaucrats, real estate tycoons, building magnates and allied government beneficiaries – are to be believed, the bid to host the 2036 Olympics is a done deal. Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar 2036 it is.
If the Indian sports industry outside Gujarat is listened to, the message is, not so fast!
Not just for Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar but India2036 itself.
At the moment, nothing is a done deal and there is no consensus even on where exactly India must host these Games. There are possibilities outside of Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar that are being discussed in quiet tones as 2036 hosts: a cluster around the golden tourist triangle Delhi-Noida-Jaipur which already possesses existing sports infrastructure. Or other regional groupings. “We shouldn’t forget that two of the most important things in an Olympic Games are that the athlete experience and the fan experience has to be great […] travellers would want to come to Delhi-Agra-Jaipur and see various other things. I don’t know how that works for Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar-Baroda.” Another individual says, “It should be a multi-city Olympics, show the diversity of India.”
The International Olympic Committee confirmed to me in mid-September over email that while they were “happy to see interest in hosting from India, with its huge passion for sport...
