In her first press conference as the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, Kirsty Coventry talked about some big changes. One of the most important announcements was about how future Olympic host cities will be chosen. This change could have a big impact on India’s hopes of hosting the 2036 edition.
The press conference covered a range of topics related to the future of the Olympic movement, while the most important points from an Indian perspective revolved around the future host selection process and the role of the Global South.
2036 Olympic Bid Process is on “Pause”
The IOC has decided to pause the process of fast-tracking a preferred host for the 2036 Olympics. India was one of the leading contenders in the “continuous dialogue” phase, having already submitted a Letter of Intent and been in active talks with the IOC’s Future Host Commission. This pause means the final decision, which was earlier expected around 2026, will take more time.
Coventry said: “We will be setting up a working group to look into this for two main reasons: Members want to be engaged more in the process, and secondly, there was a very big discussion around when the next host should be awarded.”
“That working group is going to be set up in the next week or so to start looking into when we should be selecting the future host and how we should be selecting the future host,” she added.
This is a mixed development from India’s perspective. On one side, it delays the process and adds uncertainty. But on the other hand, it gives India more time to build a stronger case and connect with IOC members, who will now have a bigger role in the selection process.
The new method will also look at how other host cities like Los Angeles (2028), Brisbane (2032), and the French Alps (2030 Winter Games) are preparing, to decide what timeline works best for future hosts.
Direct Engagement with a High Level Indian Delegation
Even though the official bidding process has been paused, The IOC president confirmed that a senior Indian delegation will still visit Lausanne next week as planned.
She said, “I am aware of the delegation coming next weekend. That will continue.” She also mentioned that India could be the first country they speak to in order to understand things better.
Emphasis on Inclusion of the Global South
A key theme of the press conference and a topic directly addressed in a question asked by RevSportz on the underrepresentation of the Global South in the history of Olympic host cities. Even from an Indian perspective, this is a significant and encouraging point. Coventry acknowledged this historical imbalance.
“When you look at the history, yes, the Global South in terms of host cities is not really represented at all. But my job, especially as the IOC president is to ensure that the policies are in place to allow for anyone and everyone to have the ability to host the games and this is what this process is about,” said Coventry.
“The future host committee and the processes that have been put into place now with targeted dialogue really works towards having a targeted dialogue with all interested parties, not just to help broaden the opportunities for more countries, but to have a better understanding of what it takes, what is needed to deliver the games, because that’s also very important,” she added.
Protection of the Female Category in Sports
While not directly related to the 2036 bid, the announcement of a new working group to “protect the female category” in sports is a major policy decision from the new IOC president.
“There was overwhelming support from all of the members present here, and those who were able to share with us before they left, that we should protect the female category. With that, we are going to set up a working group made up of experts and international federations. It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this, and that we should be the ones to bring together the experts, bring together the federations, and ensure that we find consensus. We understand that there will be differences depending on the sports, but it was fully agreed that, as members and as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on the protection of the female category, and that we should ensure that this is done in consensus with all the stakeholders,” said the first female IOC president.
Engaging with the Modern Audience
In a nod to the younger generation, Coventry also spoke about the need for the Olympic movement to stay relevant. She emphasized using new platforms and using modern technology like Al to connect with young people in a way that makes sense to them.
“When you’re looking at esports and TikTok, it’s a very young and youthful part of our communities that are taking part in both TikTok and esports. As the Olympic Movement, we have to recognize that we need to not just have a space in these environments, but we need to fully understand the environments.
“There are a lot of really good ideas in the AI agenda on how to engage, what that looks like, and how we can do that across many different regions of the globe because that’s also really important when it comes to universality and speaking to everybody,” she added.
Reallocation of Medals
Medals for the London 2012 1500m event were reallocated due to a past anti-doping violation. The new silver medallist is Abeba Aregawi from Ethiopia and the new bronze medallist is Shannon Rowbury from the United States of America.