The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has initiated a comprehensive reform of its host city selection process for future Games, responding to internal demands for greater transparency and structured evaluation criteria. This strategic shift, announced Wednesday during an IOC session, directly impacts the upcoming contest for the 2036 Summer Olympics—a highly sought-after event with strong interest from India and Qatar.
Under the leadership of President Kirsty Coventry, who assumed office in June, the IOC has abandoned the opaque, fast-track approach that secured Brisbane’s 2032 hosting rights eleven years in advance. Instead, the committee has established a review panel chaired by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former President of Croatia, to implement a more transparent system with documented procedures and regular updates for all stakeholders.
The reformed process introduces several key changes: a mandatory short-list stage requiring detailed project plans from candidate cities earlier in the process, recognition of prior multisport event hosting experience, and increased involvement of IOC members through confidential briefings and secure online consultations. Grabar-Kitarović emphasized that these measures would ‘build legitimacy and guard against perceptions of favoritism’ while ensuring ‘structured timelines, greater transparency and more meaningful IOC member involvement.’
The 2036 bidding competition, currently paused pending formal approval of the new process in June, has attracted global interest. India’s Ahmedabad project, backed by the influential Ambani family, and Qatar’s Doha bid are considered frontrunners, though Turkey, Hungary, Germany, and Chile have also expressed interest. Indonesia was reportedly removed from consideration in October after refusing to host Israeli athletes at an international sporting event.
The revised evaluation criteria will emphasize venue master plans, sports program clarity, financial guarantees, and the added value of prior multisport event experience. Both Qatar and India possess relevant hosting credentials: Doha hosted the 2006 Asian Games and will host again in 2030, while India has hosted multiple Asian Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, with Ahmedabad scheduled to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030.