Istanbul’s Olympic dreams fade as SportAccord cancels high profile meeting amid political turmoil

[GBModerator]

The recent arrest and detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key proponent of the 2036 Olympic bid, has caused political unrest in the city.

The post Istanbul’s Olympic dreams fade as SportAccord cancels high profile meeting amid political turmoil appeared first on GamesBids.com.

View the full article

[iceman530]

all aboard Saudi Arabia and/or Qatar

[AustralianFan]

2 hours ago, iceman530 said:

all aboard Saudi Arabia and/or Qatar

I don’t think the IOC’s plans to relax the July/August hosting window to cooler months (eg Nov/Dec) will occur in time before the 2036 Host is elected, which is the only way that Qatar or Saudi Arabia could ever make it to a Host City Election.

[Guilga]

11 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

I don’t think the IOC’s plans to relax the July/August hosting window to cooler months (eg Nov/Dec) will occur in time before the 2036 Host is elected, which is the only way that Qatar or Saudi Arabia could ever make it to a Host City Election.

Those even exist nowadays?

[brasilolimpico]

There is no reason to relax the hosting dates, the climate in the nations of the northern hemisphere that are capable of hosting the games even with global warming does not make hosting on these dates unfeasible.

Sports are practiced in the tropics in much higher temperatures.

This narrative of "we will change the dates because of climate change" is to meet the specific interests of some people.

[AustralianFan]

16 hours ago, Guilga said:

Those even exist nowadays?

Yes.

[AustralianFan]

9 hours ago, brasilolimpico said:

There is no reason to relax the hosting dates, the climate in the nations of the northern hemisphere that are capable of hosting the games even with global warming does not make hosting on these dates unfeasible.

Sports are practiced in the tropics in much higher temperatures.

This narrative of "we will change the dates because of climate change" is to meet the specific interests of some people.

That will be for the IOC to decide. 

 

 

[AustralianFan]

On 4/12/2025 at 12:41 AM, AustralianFan said:

I don’t think the IOC’s plans to relax the July/August hosting window to cooler months (eg Nov/Dec) will occur in time before the 2036 Host is elected, which is the only way that Qatar or Saudi Arabia could ever make it to a Host City Election.

 

On 4/12/2025 at 12:08 PM, Guilga said:

Those even exist nowadays?

 

14 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

Yes.

The IOC have not elected a Summer Host City outside the July/August hosting window since Sydney 2000.

It remains to be seen what changes, if any, come out of this IOC Review of the July/August hosting window.

[baron-pierreIV]

Turkey just has a very bad layout plan for an Olympic Games.  I think they've realized it is too big for them at this point in their history.  If I were on the IOC, I'd rather go with RSA or Seoul again for 2036.  

[AustralianFan]

10 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

Turkey just has a very bad layout plan for an Olympic Games.  I think they've realized it is too big for them at this point in their history.  If I were on the IOC, I'd rather go with RSA or Seoul again for 2036.  

Surprisingly, Seoul sadly missed out for 2036 recently when the country’s Olympic committee instead installed the regional bid North Joella as the official 2036 bid.

[baron-pierreIV]

50 minutes ago, AustralianFan said:

Surprisingly, Seoul sadly missed out for 2036 recently when the country’s Olympic committee instead installed the regional bid North Joella as the official 2036 bid.

That's right.  I forgot about that.  So that makes India the most compelling 2036 bid so far.  Now, if they could only stay away from chaos in their large events.  

[sebastien1214]

I don't like to sound peremptory, but Erdogan has managed in just a month to ruin all of Istanbul's chances of hosting the Games in 2036 (from my perspective). I know that the Games will be awarded around 2027, but I don't see how in two years:

- Turkey's economic situation can improve. Along with Argentina, it's the country with the worst economic situation on the planet, and just two days ago, the Turkish central bank raised its key interest rate again to 46% (!!), and of course, in recent days, the Turkish lira has collapsed further, falling to €1 = 43.5 TRY, compared to €1 = 40 TRY just a month ago (and I'm not even talking about the inflation figures).

- I don't see how the political situation can improve either; Even though we know full well that the IOC doesn't care about the political regimes that organize the Olympic Games as long as they have the money, the fact remains that Turkish political history under Erdogan has included several waves of mass protests and a failed coup attempt: we've seen more stable countries.

These parameters have existed for a long time, of course; this is nothing new; And these were already the main problems (well, especially the first point) for Istanbul's bid, but the events that have occurred since March have seriously undermined Istanbul 2036's chances.

"Paradoxically," if I were an interested European country (for example: Germany, Poland, etc.), it would make me more inclined to drop 2036 and focus on 2040. If Istanbul won 2036, one could expect it to be considered a European Games, and thus that 2040 would be held in Asia. In this case, I have the feeling that 2036 will be an Asian Games (we'll see where, now), which leaves the field open for 2040, for Games that will necessarily be European (since the last ones will have been in 2024).

[SportLightning]

Hopefully coup attempts don't do the same as far UEFA Euro 2032 as co-host alongside Italy.

[FYI]

Quote

Yes.

[olympian]

On 4/12/2025 at 1:41 PM, AustralianFan said:

I don’t think the IOC’s plans to relax the July/August hosting window to cooler months (eg Nov/Dec) will occur in time before the 2036 Host is elected, which is the only way that Qatar or Saudi Arabia could ever make it to a Host City Election.

NBC will raise a stink since moving it later in the year will certainly conflict with their NFL schedule. 

[AustralianFan]

6 hours ago, olympian said:

NBC will raise a stink since moving it later in the year will certainly conflict with their NFL schedule. 

I agree, its a very difficult road that the IOC would need to navigate with many different stakeholders if it wishes to change the hosting dates of the Olympic Games:  NBC, national sporting competitions including NFL, NBA, UEFA, Premier League, FIFA, IPL, etc etc