India and Qatar join seven-country race to host 2036 Olympics

The race to host the 2036 Summer Olympics now has a named field of seven countries. India, Qatar, South Africa, Turkiye, Germany, Hungary and South Korea have expressed interest, according to Al Jazeera, reporting the International Olympic Committee's announcement.

This is still a competition between proposed projects, not a host selection. The Hindu reported that the interested countries are due to present their Games projects in November.

On October 6, coverage of the IOC announcement confirmed India's place alongside six other countries. The Times of India reported that the vote to choose the host is scheduled for 2029.

The proposals already have some identifiable centres. India's plan focuses on Ahmedabad, which will also host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, according to Business Line.

Germany has selected Munich as its Olympic candidate, Deutsche Welle reported on October 6. That puts Munich's project up against proposals from the six other countries.

South Africa's interest brings a different prospect to the competition: the first Summer Olympics hosted in Africa. BBC Sport reported on October 6 that the IOC had confirmed South Africa's interest.

The seven countries form the current field, but the immediate deadline is October 31. The Hindu reported that the IOC will not consider any additional interested parties for 2036 after that date.

Qatar is described as a frontrunner in Guardian Sport. That is the outlet's assessment of the race, rather than an announced IOC decision. The host vote remains scheduled for 2029, according to The Times of India.

The November presentations are the next opportunity for the countries to set out their projects to the IOC, according to The Hindu. For India, the proposal centres on Ahmedabad; Germany's candidate is Munich.

Point.md reported that the IOC will assess the projects' feasibility through March 2027, when its executive board will open the "strategic dialogue" stage. Those assessments will be a further step between the current expressions of interest and the eventual host selection.