Asian nations in strong race to host 2036 Olympics

Emerging economy

Indonesia, with its rapidly emerging economy and a population of 280 million, is also eager to host the 2036 Olympics.

President Joko Widodo announced in August 2022 that his government would bid for the Games. If successful, the event would be held in Indonesia's planned new capital Nusantara, which is being carved out of the forest in East Kalimantan Province.

The president underscored the importance of sport for people's health and its power to unite the world, according to local media reports.

Lukman Djajahadikusuma, general secretary of the National Sports Council, said in April that the Indonesian government was trying its best to win the 2036 Olympics. "Cooperation among all sides is important," he said.

Indonesia hopes to impress Olympic evaluators through its track record of hosting the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang. "Indonesia has the infrastructure, the ambition and the willingness to do it," Indonesia's team leader at the Paris Olympics, Anindya Bakrie, said, according to an Associated Press report.

Sigit Permadi, secretary of the Malang, East Java, chapter of the Indonesian Badminton Association, said it is not easy to host a sporting event the size of the Olympic Games.

"But hosting such games makes us so proud as a nation," Permadi said.

At the Paris Olympics, Indonesian athletes won two gold medals and one bronze and finished 39th on the medal table.

Muhammad Bayu Pratama, managing director of the daily newspaper Pikiran Rakyat, said if the 2036 Games were held in the new capital it would fill people across Indonesia with pride.