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Officials from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) along with a host of experts are scheduled to meet in Gujarat for discussing the strategies and innovative economic models for financing and building “sustainable” sports infrastructure that will help India position itself as a strong contender to host the 2036 Olympics.
“We are organising the 1st International Olympic Research Conference from January 27-30, which will discuss financing and innovative economic models for hosting the Olympics in India. It has been seen that countries and cities that hosted Olympics in the past have seen huge debts. This is because the games tend to burden the public exchequer,” said Utsav Chaware, director, Bharat Centre of Olympic Research and Education (BCORE), which is collaborating with government agencies, sports bodies for organising sports events including Olympics. The event will be held at Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) campus.
Sustainable sports infrastructure
“Secondly, there will also be discussions on how sustainable sports infrastructure can be built from large events like the Olympics. The utility of large sporting venues becomes questionable after large events conclude. Many turn into white elephants requiring huge maintenance. So there will be discussions on creating sporting venues that are sustainable in terms of economy,” he added. The event is being held in Gujarat at a time when India is bidding to host the Olympics in 2036.
The four-day event to be held in collaboration with Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, will host keynote sessions on “2036 Vision: Pathway to become an Olympic host”, “Global Best Practices and Comparative Analysis in Olympic City Selection and Urban Legacy”, “Financing the Future: Innovative Economic Models for hosting Olympics in India—Insights into sustainable funding and investment”, “Greening the Games: Integrating sustainability into the Indian Olympic plan strategies”, “the Road to 2036: Promoting Gender equity and inclusion across disciplines”, among others.
Officials who are scheduled to participate include IOA President PT Usha and vice-president Gagan Narang. Renowned researchers and experts in Olympic studies will deliver lectures and facilitate discussions on current trends, challenges and opportunities in the field.
