India Sets Its Sights on Hosting the 2036 Olympics: Aspirations and Challenges Ahead
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reaffirmed the country’s ambitious goal of hosting the Olympic Games by 2036. . Modi, while speaking at the event of the International Olympic Committee in Mumbai, flashed a hint of how much economic dividend he sees accruing to the country from this platform. Hosting a mega event of this nature comes with innumerable and intricate problems on the economic, infrastructural, and logistical fronts.
The cost of conducting the Olympics is very high. It is estimated that it takes a minimum of 8 billion USD to host the event. The overall cost of staging the Games is not static, but rather increases due to rising material prices, labour, and evolving infrastructure requirements. It is estimated that the preliminary budget for holding the Olympics in Paris was pegged at USD 6700 crores. This figure is going to go up by at least 25 percent as a result of the expected rise in inflation and other various costs which could not be factored in. The logistic demands of the Games involve the construction or renovation of stadiums, public transport networks, and good accommodation for athletes and spectators.
These infrastructural developments are usually made to provide a long-term legacy to the host city. However, in reality, most host cities have difficulty readjusting these temporary structures. For example, the 1976 Montreal Olympics left the city with debt that took over 40 years to repay, and Athens, which hosted the event in 2004, plunged into an economic crisis due to the event hangover. Moreover, the 2024 Paris Games become an instance of how such an event may go awry. As much as there is some glory brought to the country by the Olympics, the financial cost could be abnormally huge. This was the case with the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Victoria, Australia, where the Australian government retreated from its host duties due to the surging costs and logistical problems that cropped up.
Against this background, the aspiration of India to host the 2036 Olympics is couched with equal measures of opportunities and challenges. One of the direct economic benefits for any country to host the Olympic Games has always been debated. While it may spur short-term economic activity and infrastructure development, the long-term benefits are less certain. Many host cities find that the financial strain and challenge to maintain newly built infrastructure may outweigh the anticipated economic growth.
Ultimately, while the Olympics do increase the status of a nation in the world community and spur a great deal of development, the economic pay-off, according to the experience of previous Olympic host cities, is highly complex and at times discouraging. If India is to stage a successful Olympics in 2036, careful planning and realistic budgeting will be required so that the Games bring long-term benefits and not turn out to be an expensive enterprise with short-lived advantages.
