AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS, CITIES AND COUNTRIES WERE DISCREETLY MAKING THEIR CASE TO HOST IN 2036

If the 2036 Olympics must go to Asia — a logical option to follow Paris, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032 — then Indonesia will push its case as a fast-emerging economy of 280 million people...

If historic waterway settings are the new musthave accessory for Olympic host cities, then Istanbul's mayor wants the IOC to know his city has one. If the key to getting the 2036 Summer Games is having hosted world championships in top-tier Olympic sports, then Qatar can point to its track record over the past decade. If winning over the International Olympic Committee is about ambition, finance and relationship-building, then India's project backed by the Ambani family and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well placed.

Saudi Arabia is following a similar path and in Paris sealed an Esports Olympic Games hosting deal with the IOC for 12 years, beyond the next Summer Games that is available to be awarded.

If the 2036 Olympics must go to Asia - a logical option to follow Paris, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032 - then Indonesia will push its case as a fast-emerging economy of 280 million people.

In Paris, interested parties discreetly made their case for hosting the Olympics in a process run by the IOC that is now more discreet, less obviously a campaign and which critics say is too opaque. It can end with a winner far quicker than the old way of holding a multi-candidate vote seven years before the Games open. Brisbane outpaced Qatar to get the 2032 award 11 years in advance. If just one thing is clear, the 2036 Olympics host will be known long before 2029 and strongly shaped by the high bar Paris has set.