European Games - Opening Ceremony - Henryk Reyman Stadium, Krakow, Poland - June 21, 2023 President of Poland, Andrzej Duda during the opening ceremony of the European Games REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland will bid to hold the summer Olympics in 2036, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday, entering the ring with other hopefuls including Indonesia, Mexico and India.
Poland, which hosted the multi-sports European Games this summer in Krakow and Malopolska, has never hosted an Olympic Games, summer or winter.
"I would like to announce, after consultations with the Polish Olympic Committee, with the Minister of Sport, and with the government, that our ambition and intention is to start efforts to organize the Summer Olympic Games in 2036," Andrzej Duda told a conference in Zakopane, southern Poland.
The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2032 Games to Brisbane, while there are already several interested potential candidates for the 2036 Games.
Mexico and Indonesia have officially expressed their interest while a bid from India looks all but inevitable. Turkey, Hungary and cities in the Gulf region could also join.
"Our Polish friends have already successfully demonstrated they have what it takes to organise big international sporting events of the highest quality," said Hasan Arat, Executive Committee member at the European Olympic Committees (EOC).
The EOC is in charge of the European Games, an event held every four years with more than 7,000 athletes competing in 26 sports over 12 days.
"From everything the EOC saw there, Poland is well qualified to host the Olympic Games too," Arat said.
There is no open bidding process or official campaigning for the Olympics as was the case in the past, following rule changes by the IOC a few years ago.
Candidates now enter into private talks with the IOC before a recommendation of one city is made to the IOC session for a vote. The IOC usually awards the summer Olympics at least seven years in advance.
Paris will host next year's summer Games while Los Angeles will stage the 2028 Games.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Christian Radnedge)
