Indian Bid For Olympics 2036: An Analysis

Source: Current affairs adda

 On 4th November, 2024, Indian sporting fraternity was in for a pleasant surprise when the Indian Olympic Association led by PT Usha submitted a letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics in India. While further details of the same have not been announced yet, social media is abuzz with various possible names of places/cities where the Olympics can be conducted, one of the most common name coming to everyone's mind is of Ahmedabad which hosts the gigantic 1.5 lakh capacity Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium. The naysayers to the Olympics have pointed out to factors such as non usage of stadiums etc. by citing examples of South Africa post the 2010 world cup and Brazil's 2016 FIFA World cup experience or Greece's experience of hosting 2004 Athens Olympics. This article seeks to analyse the economic aspect of Indian Bid for Olympics 2036.

Factor-1: The first factor that influences such events are the country's performance in various sports, across various timelines. Though, India's performance in Olympics has been majorly underwhelming, its due to various structural issues and issues related to pressure management which was the prime reason why India finished fourth in 6 medal events during the recently concluded 2024 Olympics. But, one must not forget that India has consistently delivered well in various regional games like the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games or world championships of various sports like shooting/archery/athletics/wrestling etc. The initiatives like Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games have been a constant reason why India's average age of representation has also come down.

However, one must not discount the exemplary performance of the Indian Paralympians, who won  record of 29 medals in Paris 2024 and in last 3 Paralympics, have won 54 medals in total along with finishing in top-20 in back to back Paralympics. The Paralympian comittee had an amazing strike as it sent 87 athletes, 29 of them came back with medals, which speaks volumes of the kind of infra support the para- athletes have been recieveing in the nation. In the Paralympics, there are exemplary athletes like Sumit Antil, Avani Lekhara, Yogesh Khatunia who have won back to back medals in their respective sports. 

Also given the factor that, India's stronghold sports like chess/cricket/kabaddi have never made it to Olympics also points out to the factor of  Indian underperformance in the Olympics specifically. To add on factors like, not having enough representation in various disciplines of sports like swimming/athletics/cycling sports also hurts and sort of stops the country from winning medals like what Australia or France do in the Olympics games. Whereas, when India has a decent representation in para-athletics, the country has won bulk medals even in games such as sprint, discus throw etc. Over time, the number of athletics players will rise and this can be a major gamechanger for the country later on. The Indian sports teams of handball, basketball and football are also improving their performance and are in a transition phase which will increase Indian representation in Olympics over the coming few versions of the extravaganza.

The performance historically has not been the most influential factor while deciding who has to host the Olympics, Athens in 2004, Mexico in 1968, Rome in 1960 were conducted in countries which did not have a major sporting legacy, unlike, India where Olympic legends like Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, PV Sindhu, Milkha Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, Major Dhyan Chand have been produced by the country. Also, it would be only for the second time that the Olympics would be conducted in the Eastern hemisphere after 2008 Beijing Olympics and 1980 Moscow Olympics. This track record of the IOC to award countries only in the Western dominated political system, will also undergo a change if its conducted in a country like India, which is home to 16% of world's population today. 

Factor-2:  The second factor influencing the bid will be the strength of sports economy of the country. In total per capita terms, India is not a great sporting power, but the strength of sports economy in the country is immense. The sector contributes to 0.25% of the GDP, along with decreasing imports of sports equipment in the country. Apart from this, the sports economy is also characterized by the types of leagues conducted. India is home to the IPL, which is more valuable than legacy leagues like NBA/UEFA Champions League/La Liga/English Premier League etc. which speaks volumes about the country's sporting economy potential, its only second to the NFL(where incidentally USA does not have a great footballing history). 

Apart from IPL, India is home to various sports leagues like: UTT of Table Tennis, Pro Volleyball League, Pro Kabbadi League, Hockey India League, Indian Super League, I-League, Ultimate Kho-Kho. With cricket leading the way in conducting state level profitable leagues like TNPL, KPL, UPPL etc.  its just a matter of economic reforms in the league structures along with increased private participation that will increase the profitability of hosting such leagues which will make the strength of sports economy to rise in a huge way. This diversity of sports leagues being organised in the country will act as a factor when the Olympic bid has to be decided/allocated.

Even, the leagues of the other nations have a huge viewership in India, which makes perfect sense why leagues like NBA/Serie-A/Ligue 1/Premier League have broadcasting rights in the country along with having Indian fan clubs for teams like FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United to name a few. If the IPL model of leagues is applied to the other sports like handball/basketball etc. it would do a world of good for Indian sports as even the federations will have more fiscal power which will increase their bargaining powers in the world sports associations.

Given, the Olympics in the past have been organized in countries like Italy, Russia, Brazil which do not have a diversity in the type of sports leagues conducted, India's sailing in this parameter would be the smoothest. India also has a transparent doping system in NADAs empowered role as an organization which will act as a plus point while deciding the allocation of the sports, as the IOC/WADA have been part of several controversies in the past few years now.

Factor-3: The third most important factor which has many naysayers in the country is the economic burden on the nation. This is a very valid criticism which also makes sense because the examples of Rio, Athens and South Africa in 2010 WC have acted as a severe detterent over the past few years and have discouraged the countries to bid for hosting multilateral sporting events. However, 2 factors are there which can reduce the projected negative impact on the country. The first one is of usage of stadiums, the countries of South Africa/Greece/Brazil struggled post the hosting of Olympics primarily because, the stadiums constructed did not have enough people to use the facilities. This would be negated in a country like India, which has a massive population of 140 crore people which makes the usage of stadiums constant. One example of olympics not being a white elephant is of Beijing Olympics in 2008, where stadiums did not go out of use because China also has a massive population. In fact, the diversity in sports leagues/national games system of India can make sure that the revenues generated in the venues are stronger in the country, even after conducting the games. 

The second way, in which the burden can be reduced is to make sure that the expenditure on the Olympics is diversified over a period of 12 years from now which will make sure, per year expenditure is low and will make the stadiums give increasing returns over time. An additional way would be to conduct, 2032 Youth Olympics in Ahmedabad along with conducting 2032 Winter Olympics which will act as a proper testing ground for the 2036 Olympics & Paralympics. In addition to these 2 events, India must try hard to conduct Asian Games in Ahmedabad along with conducting various pan-Asia tournaments of various sports and world championships of the many individual/team sports which will make sure that the stadiums have world class facilities and also act as constant revenue generators to the governments.

Indian economy by default is a more diversified economy than Greece/Brazil/France whose economic growth stories are dependent on certain cities(in case of Greece its Athens) or sector. In fact, even Gujarat's economy is not fully dependent on Ahmedabad. Cities such as Surat, Vadodara, the upcoming GIFT city, coastal cities, agricultural productivity and industrial productivity of Gujarat cities like Ankleshwar/Bharuch etc. have made sure that Gujarat's economy is safety proof from the fall of real estate prices of Ahmedabad. In fact, within Ahmedabad also, there are regions which have a huge untapped economic potential and whose stocks are rising rapidly.

The only valid economic criticism will be of the sudden shock in real estate rates of Ahmedabad, which may see a huge change post the conduct of Olympics. This can also be reduced if the GIFT city expansion is properly taken care of and if the economic activity also goes up. This holds true for any Indian city that wishes to conduct Olympics and not only to Ahmedabad. The Indian economic factor also makes the country a strong contender for winning the bid for hosting Olympics 2036. Opening of multiple national/state level education institutes in Ahmedabad will also help the Gujarat government to offset any kind of loss in real estates in the city. On the parameter of economic analysis also, India is a strong contender to host the games.

Conclusion: To conclude, India has inherent strengths which is undervalued in the context of sports economy which can help the country to successfully conduct the 2036 Olympics & Paralympics on a grand scale to showcase in front of the world, the real Indian growth story. It would be a great moment of pride for the country if the 2036 games are conducted in the most brilliant country of the world.