The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened a new stage in the process of determining the host of the 2036 Olympic Games, with the publication of a handbook establishing the conditions, criteria and stages that cities and countries interested in hosting the next edition of the Games must meet. The document sets out a roadmap that will extend until mid-2029, when IOC members are expected to officially select the host. The process also comes within the framework of the “Fit for the Future” reforms, whose principles were ratified by the 146th IOC Session, held in Lausanne in June 2026.
The selection of an Olympic host city no longer depends solely on its ability to build venues or accommodate thousands of visitors. The new process involves a much broader assessment, taking into account the athlete experience and the impact on host communities, as well as urban planning, political and public support, financing and the ability to deliver the Games. Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Türkiye are currently engaged in Continuous Dialogue with the IOC and have formally expressed their interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic Games, while their projects move toward the next stages of evaluation.
A process focused on feasibility and the athlete experience
One of the main changes at this stage concerns how the IOC will assess the projects. Proposals will be examined based on technical factors including the venue master plan, the conditions offered to athletes, financing strategies and the capacity to deliver an event of this scale. This will be complemented by political and public support and a legacy strategy aimed at identifying benefits that can remain in host cities and regions after the Games have ended. The evaluation will also consider each project’s specific vision and its alignment with local development plans and the broader objectives of the Olympic Movement.
Within this approach, the athlete experience is at the heart of the process. IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who competed at five editions of the Olympic Games, highlighted that each host city has an identity shaped by its people, culture and the way it chooses to stage the event, but stressed that one element must remain unchanged: athletes must be at the center of the project. In recent months, the IOC has worked with stakeholders through virtual technical workshops covering venue planning, financing, vision, impact and legacy. Their projects are also subject to technical assessments supported by independent reports and public opinion surveys.
From current bids to the 2029 election
The timetable establishes a series of filters before the final decision is reached. October 31, 2026, will be the deadline for adding new stakeholders to the 2036 process. During November, projects already involved in the Continuous Dialogue will make virtual presentations to the Future Host Commission. The IOC will then conduct feasibility assessments, expected to be completed before March 2027, when the IOC Executive Board will formally open the Strategic Dialogue for the 2036 Olympic Games.
This stage will allow the selected projects to be examined in greater depth through increased technical support. Stakeholders will be required to submit an initial response to the Future Host Questionnaire, along with basic legal and financial guarantees, while the Future Host Commission will visit candidate regions and prepare a report for the Executive Board. The process will move forward again in December 2028, when a Targeted Dialogue will open with a selected group of Preferred Hosts. They will have to submit their final responses and a complete set of guarantees before IOC members, at a Session scheduled for mid-2029, select the host of the 2036 Olympic Games.
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