IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will make a strong bid to host the Olympics. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that India will leave “no stone unturned” in its efforts to organise the 2036 Olympics as the government expressed a strong desire to host the biggest sporting event in the world.
Modi declared open the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), where India will present its roadmap for hosting the quadrennial extravaganza.
The IOC session is being held in the country after a gap of 40 years. The last Olympic Session was held in India in 1983 in New Delhi.
PM Modi also said that India wishes to host the 2029 Youth Olympics.
“Indians are very excited about hosting the Olympics Games. India will leave no stone unturned in organising the 2036 Olympics,” said Modi during his address to the IOC Session delegation and a host of other invitees here at the Jio World Convention Centre.
“This is a dream of 140 crore Indians. We want to fulfil this dream with your support. We are willing to host the 2029 Youth Olympics. I am sure India will get constant support from IOC,” PM Modi added.
In his address to the gathering, PM Modi touched upon the importance of sports in India’s illustrious history and said that there are hardly any festivals in the country which do not have any spots associated with them.
“The spirit of sports is universal,” said PM Modi. “There are no losers — there are only winners and learners in sports. Sports empower humanity. Whoever breaks records, everyone welcomes it,” he added.
IOC president Thomas Bach, who began his address earlier in the evening while greeting the gathering by saying ‘namaste’, told the Indian PM ‘aapka bahut-bahut swagat hai’ (we welcome you) while adding that the country has been on the rise economically and also in sports.
Bach said, “India is an inspiring place. The entire Olympic community in India can be proud of the Asian Games performance.”
The IOC president, in his address, highlighted the importance of inclusion of e-sports in the Olympics program, emphasising on the need to trust the mindset of the young people and empower them.
Bach also spoke in details on artificial intelligence, saying an AI working group has been formed and added that more details on it will be revealed during the 141st IOC Session to be held over the next two days.
Bach said artificial intelligence and e-sports are two new opportunities for the Olympic movement.
Bach also highlighted the impact that artificial intelligence is going to have on the future Games, saying, “Paris Olympics 2024 will be the last Games of the pre-artificial intelligence era.”
