Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Wednesday that his nation will enter the race to host the Olympic Games in 2036.
“After consultations with the Polish Olympic Committee (POC), the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and the government, I would like to say that it is our ambition and intention to start efforts to hold the Summer Olympic Games in our country in 2036,” Duda said at a press conference in Zakopane during the 2nd European Congress of Sports and Tourism.
“In this matter, I will forward a letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, which will be handed to him by the President of the Polish Olympic Committee Radosław Piesiewicz during the meeting to be held on October 6.”
The POC said in a statement that the Games would be centered in Warsaw.
Poland’s interest in pursuing the Games developed after the 2023 European Games were successfully staged in Krakow and Malopolska this summer.
President of the Polish Olympic Committee Radosław Piesiewicz said “For my part, I can promise that we will do everything to organize these Games in Poland.”
Poland has never bid to host the Summer Games but failed vying for two Winter Games. Zakopane missed the shortlist for the 2006 edition while Krakow withdrew from the 2022 race when plans were overturned by a referendum. Nanjing in China was elected against Poland’s Poznan to host the 2014 Youth Olympics.
Poland will join a growing list of interested regions that the IOC claims has entered the “double-digits.” Under IOC bidding rules introduced in 2019, regions can apply to host the Games and join an ongoing dialogue in secrecy, the intention being that bids not included on a targeted dialogue shortlist will not be perceived as ‘losers’.
Nations expressing interest in hosting in 2036 are known to include South Korea, India, Indonesia, Germany, Qatar, Hungary, Turkey, Mexico, Egypt and U.K. In May, China was invited by IOC President Thomas Bach to join the race.
There is no set timetable for awarding the 2036 Games, but Bach has said the decision will belong to his successor after the President’s term ends in 2025. Prospective bidders participate in ongoing discussions until the IOC chooses a smaller number of candidates for targeted dialogue aimed at a final election.
The next Summer Games will be held in Paris next year followed by Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.
