Indonesia will begin preparing plans for a bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games, the nation’s President Joko Widodo announced Saturday in Jakarta.
The remarks came after an hour-long meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach while the 18th Asian Games are being staged in the Capital. The Jakarta-Palembang 2018 edition has hosted about 12,000 athletes from 45 countries across 60 sport disciplines and represents the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics.
“After the excellent experience of the Asian Games we now believe that we can host the very biggest sporting event, Widodo said adding “In Indonesia we believe we can host the Olympic Games 2032.”
Bach agreed explaining “The IOC really appreciates Indonesia’s candidature for 2032.”
“With the great success of the Asian Games Indonesia has demonstrated it has all the ingredients to organize Olympic Games in a very successful way.
“Here in Indonesia there is a great combination of friendliness and efficiency and this us what the Games are about.
“The Asia Games build a very solid foundation for such a candidature. It is a great decision which gives the youth of this young country a vision for the future and capitalizes on the successes of the Asian Games.”
Indonesia has never bid for the Olympic Games
The organization of the Jakarta Games has been lauded for its efficient organization during a shortened time frame that began just four years ago after Vietnam stepped away from its commitment for financial reasons.
The 2032 Games became the next available Summer Games to host after the IOC unexpectedly awarded the 2028 Games to Los Angeles last year, a record-breaking 11 years ahead of the opening ceremony and at the same time Paris was awarded the 2024 Games.
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On Wednesday Shanghai’s deputy director Luo Wenhua announced that the Chinese city could consider a 2032 bid after closely watching the progress of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, while it sets a course to become a “globally famous” sport city.
Other interest in bidding for the 2032 Games has come from Queensland in Australia, India, Germany, Russia and Egypt. The IOC indicated earlier this year that it has had discussions with at least one interested city and that the “discussion phase” of the cycle has begun.
The IOC is scheduled to elect the 2032 host city in 2025.
