There is no greater honor for a country than being able to host the Olympics. Hosting the event has far-reaching positives that can include both financial gain and inspiring the next generation of athletes. Many countries that look to host the games will be weighing up the pros and cons of the commitment. It includes an incredible amount of infrastructure creation and logistical planning.

Typically this doesn’t stop nations from looking to host the Olympic Games. The benefits in the form of a commercially rich sporting event will often outweigh the costs. It is also difficult to place a value on having the attention and the eyes of the world on your city. Knowing which cities are planning to bid and how the bidding process works is important to understanding the nature of the games.

The Summer Olympics are held every four years, with the hosting responsibilities falling to a different city every cycle. To date, there has been an event every four years since the inauguration of the Modern Olympic games in Athens in 1986. The only break longer than four years came between 1936 and 1948 due to the Second World War.

In total, 19 different countries on five different continents have hosted the event in its history. The United States and the United Kingdom have hosted the Olympics the most with five and three games respectively. France, Greece, Germany, Australia, and Japan have all hosted the games on two occasions. The set hosts for upcoming Summer Olympic games will change this dynamic as well. If all goes as planned, with the current hosting choices, Australia and France will join the UK with three and the US will further their lead with six hostings. The future upcoming games that have decided locations are:

The decision regarding the hosting of the Olympic Games is not an easy one to make. There is a heavy reliance on government officials from countries hoping to host the games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) must determine whether the potential hosts have the resources and infrastructure in place. The first stage of the bidding process is registration of interest by an area or city. There are several rounds of review by the IOC and event planning experts.

The final decision is made by a vote between delegated IOC members that have been previously appointed in that position. The 2023 bid was won by Brisbane, Australia, as the city won 72 votes. The bid was uncontested for the first time since Los Angeles won the right to host the games in 1984. A number of cities dropped out of the running before the vote, including Budapest, Shanghai and Istanbul.

There are a large number of countries in the running to host the 2036 Olympics. Despite the growing interest no nation has officially presented a bid. Instead, all involved in the running have registered interest. Some of the most likely bids based on early interest will be:

Egypt will be looking to make history by being successful in their 2036 bid. They hope to be the first African nation to host the Summer Olympics. The bid was announced by sports minister Ashraf Sobhy, as he revealed that officials were putting together a comprehensive bid that may appeal to IOC officials of having the Olympics in Egypt.

Thomas Bach, IOC President, has often spoken about his desire to host a games in Africa. It is the only remaining populated continent yet to host an Olympics. At the heart of the Cairo bid are the plans to build an Egyptian International Olympic City. Work has already gotten underway on the new city located 45km outside of Cairo.

There is set to be Russian opposition for whichever nations are to submit a bid for the 2036 Games. A number of Russian cities are in the picture with interest in hosting the games, but Saint Petersburg is seen by many as the leading candidate.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, has suggested that other cities including Kazan may also be a potential host city. It is the first opportunity that Russia has had to submit a bid following the state-sponsored doping programme, which eliminated them from contention for the 2032 Games.

According to reports, the most likely bid for the 2036 Olympics is set to be a joint one from the United Kingdom, which will see events across the country. London last hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and UK Sport have both expressed interest in bidding for the event in 2036. One of the biggest factors in the bids favor is that most of the infrastructure is already there, with Birmingham also hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

 

Hosting the Olympics, especially the popular Summer Olympics, can be a defining moment in a country’s history. Just having serious interest can often be a signal that a developing nation has reached a certain level of wealth and development. The opportunity to bring the world to your city is enticing to many business leaders, politicians, and proud citizens. It’s not clear where the 2036 Olympics will be held, but it’s certain to be an amazing opportunity for whichever city is selected.