Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, well known for his glib talk, bowled a googly, when he said there was a provision made in the state budget passed recently for the Capital to bid for the Summer Olympics in 2048.
It is well known any talk of a host city even expressing an intent to host the Olympics has to be routed through the National Olympic Committee — the Indian Olympic Association. More important, any intent of hosting an Olympics has to be cleared first by the Central Government.
Clearly, Kejriwal has used the chance to get extra mileage by talking about such a huge subject without proper knowledge.
Hosting the Olympics is a multi-billion dollar subject. From projections made initially to final cost of the Games, cost over-runs have to be calculated. What is even more laughable is to talk of hosting the Olympics 27 years from now.
At present, in the IOC (International Olympic Committee) circles, the debate is over Brisbane getting to host the 2032 Olympics.
Reacting to news of Delhi bidding for the 2048 Olympics, Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Dhruv Batra set the record straight. Speaking to this writer, Batra, who is also an IOC member in India and President of the FIH (international hockey federation) said there were many issues to be sorted out before even talking of an intent to host the Olympics.
“I wish Mr Kejriwal had spoken to me first. When any host city makes a bid, it has to be for two successive Olympics. At present, all discussions in the world are around Brisbane for 2032. I am confident India can hold the Games in 2036 or 2040. To my mind, the best city which can host the Games is Ahmedabad,” said Batra.
Just to jog the readers’ memory, two weeks ago when President Ram Nath Kovind and Home Minister Amit Shah were in Ahmedabad at the Bhoomi Pooja fordeveloping the Sardar Patel Sports Enclave which also houses the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, there was a lot of excitement.
The Home Minister had talked of building multiple sports infrastructure in Ahmedabad. Amit Shah had even talked on the stage at a function of how Gujarat can build the infrastructure for hosting the Olympics in six months.
Batra said the new cricket stadium can be used as well. “This is perhaps the largest stadium in the world with a capacity of over 1,30,000. I am sure this stadium can be used for the Olympics. Ahmedabad will be a great choice as host city but to talk of all this now is premature,” said Batra.
“The Central Government has to give the green signal and many approvals have to be taken. To show intent is the first thing and I am very confident Ahmedabad could be a choice for 2036 and 2040. The eventual decision will be taken many years much later but an expression of intent can be shown,” added Batra.
For many years, there has been talk of India hosting the Youth Olympics first and then the Olympics proper. There has also been talk of India hosting the Asian Games.
Post pandemic, this is the first time the IOA President has talked on this subject. The last time was in 2018 when Thomas Bach, the IOC President had come to New Delhi. The shift from New Delhi to Ahmedabad as a venue seems logical.
Delhi, the Capital city, is a mess in many ways where day to day life is chaotic. That it hosted the 1982 Asian Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games goes to its credit. However, the time has come when cities outside the NCR need to be thought of. Gujarat’s fast development and Ahmedabad’s infrastructure expansion suddenly has raised hopes of India hosting the Olympics.