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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will discuss collaboration with India on promotion of sport in the country when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday, according to the timeline provided by the government and the Lausanne-based IOC.
Bach’s visit, on the invitation of PM Modi, comes about four months before the last date of sending bids for hosting the 2024 Olympic Games, triggering speculation the talks will focus on India bidding for the Games.
Earlier, officials had indicated India wanted to bid for the 2024 Games, with either New Delhi or Ahmedabad as the host city.
This is the first time an IOC president is visiting India on the invitation of the PM. Earlier, IOC chiefs, including Juan Antonio Samaranch (1982) and Jacques Rogge (2010), had visited the country on official trips, though they had met the PM or president, or both.
This will be Bach’s second visit to India; seven years ago, he had come to India as vice-president of IOC.
Asked about Bach’s meeting with the PM on Monday, a government spokesperson said a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games wasn’t on the agenda. Terming it a courtesy call, the official said Modi and Bach would discuss how IOC could promote sport in India.
A source, however, said discussions on India’s interest in hosting the Games were bound to take place.
Replying to a Business Standard query on the issue, Emmanuelle Moreau, head of media relations, IOC, said, “The IOC president intends to meet the prime minister and sporting authorities to discuss the development of sport in India and the role sport and the Olympic Games could have within Indian society.” While confirming the visit was on the invitation of the PM, Moreau didn’t reply to a specific question on whether India’s proposed bid for the 2024 Olympic Games would be discussed.
Rome, Hamburg, Paris, Boston, Casablanca, Doha, Nairobi and Malaysia-Thailand (joint bid) are among those that have expressed interest in hosting the 2024 Games. While Paris is looking at a budget of $4.5 billion to host the event, Rome’s projection is $7.5 billion.
If India is to bid, there could be issues pertaining to the proposed host cities (New Delhi and Ahmedabad), besides factors such as high cost and inadequate infrastructure. The national capital was under the Aam Aadmi Party government and political differences between Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal might come in the way, a source said. For Ahmedabad, the fact that it is in a dry state might pose a hurdle, as the IOC has alcoholic beverage companies as sponsors and co-sponsors. While the infrastructure built for the 1982 Asian Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games might work in New Delhi’s favour, the scams and negative publicity around the Commonwealth Games might go against it.
The bid process, termed the invitation phase, for the 2024 Olympic Games began on January 15 this year. If it bids, India has to send an application to the IOC by September 15. The deadline for cities to submit applications and guarantee letters is January 8, 2016. After several meetings and evaluations, the host city for the 2024 Games will be decided on September 15, 2017.
Apart from the bid, Modi and Bach, a well-known German lawyer and Olympic medallist in fencing, might discuss the state of sport in India, including a rift between the sports ministry and the Indian Olympic Association.
