India's dream to host Olympics 2036: Big-ticket sporting events bring long-lasting benefits

In every country’s sporting history, there comes a point that acts as a catalyst for a change for the better. Experts in the sporting ecosystem, almost collectively, agree that that moment for India came when the nation hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Though the country had hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 before getting the event here again in 1982, the 2010 CWG with 71 nations competing, however, made a far larger impact compared to the previous two continental showpieces. Suddenly, the cricket frenzy population was exposed to athletes and athleticism in various disciplines. A new fan base helped create stars out of sportspersons outside their most-loved game.

The success of the CWG was followed by the government pumping in more money while private entities too looked beyond cricket. This inspired more youngsters to take up sports as a career and instilled confidence among the country’s athletes to compete with the best of the world.

Out of a total of 35 Olympic medals (10 gold, 9 silver, 16 bronze) in the modern Games’ 128-year-old history, 15 of them were won by India in the last three editions (London 2012 – six, Rio 2016 – two and Tokyo 2020 – seven) post the CWG in the national capital.

What this essentially means is hosting big-ticket global sporting events in India has long-lasting benefits. And nothing can be bigger than the Olympics.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2023 confirmed that India would bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics, it appeared to some sceptics an over-ambitious dream for a still developing country. But Greece and Brazil – both not-so-rich nations – hosting the greatest sporting extravaganza of the world in 2004 and 2016 respectively are the examples that could be cited to allay the concerns of the sceptics.

The trend shows that countries that are not among the top performers at the Olympics benefit more by organising the event. The Olympics 2036 in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar can also give India the much-needed boost in its stride to become a global sporting superpower.

Apart from inspiring the sporting community, the social, economic and cultural gains of hosting the Olympic Games are also immense. With participants coming from over 200 countries, it will give a fillip to the tourism industry. The construction of stadiums, hotels, roads and other infrastructural requirements will create employment opportunities. This further benefits the small-scale manufacturers needed to generate raw materials apart from investing and offering opportunities to other businesses. The organising committee holds specialised programmes to train volunteers, generating a whole new community of individuals ready to provide services beyond the Games.

At the same time, the concerns of environmentalists are also genuine. However, the IOC is encouraging and incentivising those who use the existing sporting infrastructure. And, if that means holding the event in multiple venues or even multiple nations, so be it. 

 While the critics may disagree and the brickbats cannot be avoided, there is no discounting the fact that hosting a major sporting spectacle such as the Olympic Games can be a way to re-energise an entire nation. The hope is that if India wins the bid to host the Games in 2036, the pros will appear to outweigh the cons by the time the Olympics Torch will be lit up on the bank of the Sabarmati River 12 years from now.