2036 Olympics, which are the seven candidate countries: Italy is not there

While the organizational machinery is already underway for the next editions of the Summer Olympic Games - scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032 -, the race for the 2036 edition has officially come to life. The first formal window for submitting bids closed at the end of October. There are seven countries remaining in the running that have submitted an expression of interest through their respective national Olympic committees. These are Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, South Korea, South Africa and Türkiye. Nothing to do, therefore, for Italy.

The assignment of the Games will only arrive in 2029

The road to the definitive assignment is still long: the final decision of the International Olympic Committee will only come in 2029 through the vote of its members, but a first important screening of the list is expected as early as March 2027. Among the seven current candidates, the only countries to have already had the experience of hosting an Olympics are Germany and South Korea. The German committee intends to propose the city of Munich for 2036, historically linking up to the 1972 edition (hosted by the then West Germany) and to that of 1936. South Korea is instead aiming for a return to five circles - after the Summer Olympics in Seoul 1988 and the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018 - this time concentrating the organizational plans in the Jeonju area, a center located about 200 kilometers south of the capital.

The new frontiers and the widespread Olympics

For the other five countries in the running (Hungary, India, Qatar, South Africa and Türkiye) it would instead be an absolute first. At the moment, detailed official dossiers on individual host cities have not yet been released, but the preliminary plans seem to support the strong recent trend towards widespread Olympics, i.e. organizational models capable of distributing competitions and infrastructures over large territories or multiple urban areas to ensure greater economic and logistical sustainability.