The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board has selected Mumbai in India to host the organization’s 140th all-members Session in 2023.
The decision, that was announced following the Executive Board meeting concluded Wednesday at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland is expected to get rubber-stamp approval by the full IOC membership in July ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
IOC President Thomas Bach said that India was chosen to host because of its large and youthful population, and huge potential for Olympic sport.
“We want to tap on to this great potential and we want to encourage and support the national Olympic committee of India and national federations,” Bach said following the meeting.
Mumbai, the only bidder for the meeting, submitted its proposal last June and received an IOC delegation to examine plans in November.
The Session, a high profile event where important decisions are made, attracts about 100 IOC members comprised of sport leaders, international royalty and other prominent figures. The 2023 Session was to be the venue of the 2030 Olympic Winter Games bid election but changes made last year eliminated set schedules for the site selection process.
The meeting will take place at the end of May or in early June.
Indian sports officials have set the 2023 IOC Session as a stepping stone on its sports road map that they hope will include a 2026 Youth Olympic Games, a 2030 Asian Games and ultimately the 2032 Olympic Games.
The Indian Olympic Committee has already entered discussions with the IOC’s Future Host Commission regarding the 2032 Summer Games, and would need to defeat the leading rival bid from Southeast Queensland in Australia in order to host.
India last hosted the 86th IOC Session in 1983 in New Delhi, the only previous time the nation has done so.
Sessions in even number years are typically held immediately prior to the Summer or Winter Olympics in the same city – Tokyo this year and Beijing in 2022. Athens is set to host the 2021 Session.
