3 min readMumbaiJun 25, 2026 08:00 AM IST India’s ambitious bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games will be tested in March next year when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides whether it progresses to the next stage of the host selection process. The IOC on Wednesday approved a revamped roadmap for choosing future Olympic hosts, setting out a structured timeline that will culminate in the election of the 2036 host at an IOC Session in mid-2029. Under the new process, interested bidders will first go through a continuous dialogue phase before a shortlist of preferred candidates is drawn up in the first quarter of 2027. For India, which formally entered the race through the Indian Olympic Association and is currently engaged in continuous dialogue with the IOC’s Future Host Commission, the first major checkpoint will come in March 2027. Only bidders selected for the next phase will be invited into what the IOC calls ‘strategic dialogue’, involving detailed evaluations of venues, governance structures, financing plans and delivery capabilities. The IOC’s new framework marks a …