Mexico recalibrated its pursuit to host major multi-sports events dropping a bid to stage the 2036 Olympic Games. Instead Mexican Olympic Committee (COM) president Maria Jose Alcala said Tuesday that the nation will now target an earlier Youth Olympics or the Pan American Games.
According to Reuters Alcala made the decision after discussing the issue with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We had a talk with the International Olympic Committee and we saw that the competition is very tough,” she said.
“We are turning around to see if we can have the bid for the Youth Olympic Games, which is where we would have a great chance.
“It would be before the 2036 Games… We are in talks with the IOC.”
Mexico entered an ongoing dialogue with the IOC in 2022 looking to host the Games in 2036 or 2040 but last March the COM submitted a letter of interest to vie for the earlier edition. Brisbane has been awarded the 2032 Games with Los Angeles hosting in 2028 and Paris staging the event beginning in July.
The IOC said last year that the number of regions interested in hosting in 2036 is in the “double digits”, but an election won’t likely happen until after IOC President Thomas Bach’s successor is elected in 2025. The IOC does not name interested parties involved in ongoing discussions but Germany and India are already actively campaigning and South Korea, Indonesia, Qatar, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt and U.K. have all publicly expressed interest.
Earlier this month Poland backtracked on its intentions to bid for the 2036 edition because it was “not ready.”
The Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, Senegal in 2026 so the next available edition won’t be until 2030. India has shown interested in bidding for those Games as a stepping stone to prepare for a possible 2036 Olympics.
The IOC has no set timetable for the awarding of the 2030 Youth Olympics.
An additional opportunity opened for Mexico earlier this month when Barranquilla in Colombia was stripped of the 2027 Pan American Games after it missed a financial milestone. The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) reopened the bidding and has already attracted interest from 2019 host Lima, Peru and Asunción, Paraguay.
“There is an approach from Nuevo Leon [Mexico], they are the only ones who have approached us. That is still under discussion,” Alcala said about a possible Mexican bid for those Games.
Barranquilla has been trying to win those Games back by offering an immediate payment of the USD $8 Million marketing fees that are now overdue. PASO has scheduled an extraordinary congress in February to determine next steps.
Mexico is preparing to jointly host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Canada and United States and is currently bidding to stage the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup with the United States.
