Gujarat's Olympics Push

Come 2036 and Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat may well be hosting the Summer Olympics. Why 2036?

- Jumana Shah

Well, the next three hosts have already been finalised—Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032. India has already communicated the desire to host the 2036 edition to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), though officials privy to the development say “formal engagement” will begin at the global body’s next meeting scheduled in Mumbai in September.

Many a nation has used big-ticket sporting events to showcase its soft power, and the PM Modi-led Union government is driven by the same urge to enhance the country’s global standing. Since the idea was first mooted in early 2021, it has gathered steam in political circles, while bureaucrats in Gujarat have been busy preparing the government’s pitch to be tabled before the IOC. At the core of the proposal is the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Sports Enclave, located along the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad’s Motera, which will house venues for over 20 Olympics sports. The opening ceremony is proposed at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s biggest cricket stadium with a 132,000 seating capacity, which is a part of the sports enclave (see Mission 2036).