Reporting From Lausanne, Switzerland – India submitted a formal bid Tuesday to host the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session to take place in 2023, it was announced during the 134th Session underway in Lausanne.
The Session that India has proposed for Mumbai could be the site of the host election for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, according to current IOC scheduling.
“2022-2023 happens to be the 75th year of Indian Independence and what better way for Indian sports to celebrate the occasion by having the entire Olympic family and community in India,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra said.
Batra, who is set to be sworn in as an IOC member Wednesday, along with IOC member Nita Ambani presented the bid to IOC President Thomas Bach.
The Session, a high profile event that attracts about 100 IOC members comprised of leaders, international royalty and other prominent figures, often puts a city on the sports map. This week, Prime Ministers Giuseppe Conte of Italy and Stefan Löfven of Sweden, as well as Crown Princess Victoria, traveled to Lausanne as part of of bid delegations to host the 2026 Games that were awarded Monday to Milan-Cortina.
On Wednesday, the IOC Session will likely approve amendments to the Olympic Charter that could remove restrictions on the timing of host city or country elections. Currently set at seven years ahead of the opening of the Games, new bidding rules could allow an election earlier or later.
That could mean India won’t see the high-profile election of an Olympic host.
India has put the 2023 IOC Session as a stepping stone on its sports road map that it hopes will include a 2026 Youth Olympic Games, a 2030 Asian Games and ultimately the 2032 Olympic Games.
India hosted the 86th IOC Session in 1983 in New Delhi, the only previous time the nation has done so.
The IOC could choose the 2023 Session host next year in Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games.
