Chinese Cities’ Olympics bid report rubbished

Article posted by Coliseum, December 14^th, 2020

Image: gochengdu.cn

Chinese officials have recently pooh-poohed reports that the Cities of Chengdu and Chongqing (China) were lining up a bid for the 2032 edition of the Summer Olympic Games.

The 2032 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXV Olympiad, is a forthcoming international multisport event. The winning bid is scheduled to be selected between 2021 and 2025 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at an unknown date.

Media reports stated that the former Chinese Olympic Committee Secretary General Wei Jizhong said the plan was “only an idea” and noted that officials may not be willing to make a bid so close to Beijing hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022.

The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, and commonly known as Beijing 2022, is an international winter multisport event that is scheduled to take place from February 4^th to 20^th, 2022, in Beijing and towns in the neighboring Hebei province in China.

Chongqing officials told mediapersons that they were unaware of the bid.

A provincial Government document released recently said the two Cities saw the Olympics as an opportunity to bolster socio-economic development in the region. However, it only said that 2032 would be the earliest Olympics they could possibly bid for.

“As part of a national strategy to develop the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the two Cities will bid for the Olympics together to try to host a Games with strong urban and cultural characteristics of the two Cities, and to enhance the international influence of the two Cities,” the document stated, as per media reports.

The official bidding process for the 2032 Olympics is set to open in 2025. So far, Indonesia, Qatar, India and the Australian State of Queensland have expressed an interest in staging the sporting extravaganza, while a potential joint bid from North and South Korea has also been mooted.

Chengdu will host the Summer World University Games in 2021 (August 18^th -29^th) and will also stage the 2025 edition of the World Games.

The World University Games are staged every two years in a different City. This celebration of international university sports and culture draws many thousands of student-athletes together to compete, making it among the world’s largest and most prestigious multisport events.

Earlier this month, Indonesia moved forward with its bid plans for the 2032 Olympics, with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordering the setting up of a special committee to oversee the effort. Indonesia has been at the forefront of the race for the 2032 Games, with capital City Jakarta in February 2019 moving quickly to become the first City to declare its candidacy.

Qatar confirmed its interest in hosting the Olympics back in July and wrote a letter to the IOC requesting that it be a part of a phase of “continuous dialogue” about staging a future Games.

In May, Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra said the country would step up its efforts to host the 2032 Olympics and other international fixtures once the coronavirus dust settles.

In December 2019, Queensland confirmed that it would push ahead with a region-wide bid for the Games if it can secure the necessary Government funding.

Tokyo will host its rescheduled Olympics next summer before the 2024 and 2028 Games head to Paris (France) and Los Angeles (US), respectively. The Chinese capital of Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and will stage the Winter Games in 2022.

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