Will Mumbai be bidding to host the Youth Olympic Games 2026? It appears so, as per THE WEEK's sources and going by the developments during International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach's one day visit to the city.
According to a reliable source, privy to the developments during Dr Bach's visit, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “spent six hours with Bach and Mukesh and Nita Ambani on Friday”.
Nita Ambani, IOC member from India, hosted a gala dinner for Bach and Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sabah. Former Olympians, a few Commonwealth Games medal winners , industrialists such as Ratan Tata and representatives of various national sports federations as well as of Indian Olympic Association were also present at the dinner.
The proposed location is said to be Navi Mumbai where Ambani's reportedly owns 2,140 hectares of land, which presently remains undeveloped.
But there are a few glitches in this proposal. A day before the Mumbai visit, Narinder Dhruv Batra, president of IOA had announced that India will bid for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, 2030 Asian Games and 2032 Olympic Games, but the city chosen to make the bids would be New Delhi. “It is not feasible elsewhere in India―the infrastructure exists and there are so many concerns related to traffic movement, security, logistics.”
Bach, when asked about India's interest in bidding for 2026 Youth Olympic Games, had said that the procedures are not open for India to make the bid as of now.
In March, the IOC had made public details of no-cost bid plan for Olympic Games in Africa in 2022. The IOC set a target for these games to be hosted for the first time in Africa. The IOC also wants Youth Olympic events to move out of stadiums to create a festival experience in parks, streets and city squares.