French President Emmanuel Macron expressed that he strongly believes in India's ability to host the 2036 Olympics, highlighting the country's "capacity to organise such events". However, he also acknowledged the "fierce competition" that exists among nations seeking to become potential hosts of this prestigious international sporting event in the years ahead.
India and Egypt are among the other countries who have made their bids for hosting the Olympics in 20236.
In a recent interview with JioCinema, the French President reflected on India’s collaboration with France and the lessons that can be learnt from Paris Olympics that were concluded recently.
"I’m a strong believer in your country and its future, what you can build and your capacity to organise such events. I think this is a fierce competition and you shouldn’t underestimate it," Macron said.
Drawing parallels with France's experience while bidding for Olympics 2024, Macron stated: "I remember seven years ago, when I went to Lausanne, we competed with the US at the time and we found this agreement and at the end, it is still a great cooperation. Competing is in itself a great preparation."
He further highlighted the collaborative efforts between India and France at the time of Olympics' preparation.
"We did work and will continue to work with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked me to send a technical team here, and you have some Indians embedded with our teams for the preparation of this Olympic Games and during it. If we can transfer the know-how and the technology, it would be great," Macron said.
"We have a lot of companies involved in the events, equipment, and so on, which have learned a lot during these Games. They will be a part of Los Angeles. They will be a part of Brisbane. I’ll be delighted if they could be a part of an Indian candidature for the Olympics in India," he added.
The French President then went on to emphasise the significance of unity among several stakeholders including local communities, state, and the sports organisation, which is required to successfully host the Olympics.
“For me, what is key to organise the Olympics is unity. You need your sportspeople, your Olympic Committee, local communities and constituencies, and obviously the State, and all the different people from security to organisation. This is the unity of the team," he said.
He also highlighted that besides unity, stability is also another crucial aspect needed to organise the Games.
"You also need stability because during the past seven years, it’s been almost the same team and people involved. This is a huge investment. We spoke about the Seine River; you tested it here. A lot of people told us it’s impossible, just forget it. No, we stuck to our commitment and decided to go to the end. Stability and capacity to go to the end," the 46-year-old said.
Finally, Macron underlined the importance of "audacity" in hosting the Olympics as he encouraged India to "dream big and deliver big".
"Audacity, I think it’s very important because in this new phase, you have to dream big and deliver big and your country has the capacity to do so," he concluded.