The IOC can rub its hands: the race for the Summer Games in 2036 has no shortage of applicants, even before the competition opens. The Olympic body has just recorded a new one. He was not expected.

The Polish President, Andrzej Duda (photo above, center), took advantage of the European Congress of Sport and Tourism being held in Zakopane on Wednesday, September 26, to announce his country's desire to launch into the battle.

« In the coming days, I will prepare an appropriate letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, declared the head of state. I want to believe that this will effectively launch our efforts and that we will have the opportunity to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2036"

Very concrete in his approach, Andrzej Duda also announced that his letter of intent would be sent to Thomas Bach at the end of next week, on the occasion of the general assembly in Istanbul of the Association of European Olympic Committees (EOC) . The missive will be carried by the president of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radoslaw Piesiewicz. It will mark the first stage of the Polish project.

Poland has never hosted the Olympic Games. She never even dared to bid for the Summer Games, contenting herself with trying her luck several times for the winter event. Zakopane was a candidate for the Winter Games in 2006, ultimately awarded to Turin, Italy. Krakow had announced a project for the 2022 edition, before withdrawing from the race.

But the Poles do not hide it: the recent success of the 2023 European Games, organized in Krakow and the Malopolska region, has given them a desire for greatness. Their Olympic project would have been born from discussions between the national Olympic committee, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and the Head of State, at the time of the assessment. It would have emerged strengthened from recent exchanges with the EOC, at the origin of the creation in 2015 of the European Games.

The continental body did not wait for the letter signed by Andrzej Duda to be delivered to Thomas Bach. She announced on Wednesday September 26, in the wake of the Head of State's declaration of intent, her support for the Polish project.

« The European Olympic Committees (EOC) welcome Poland’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”, explains a press release. The same document relays the words of Turkish Hasan Arat, member of the EOC executive committee and president of the European Games coordination commission: “ Our Polish friends have already successfully demonstrated that they have what it takes to organize major international sporting events of the highest quality. Based on everything the European Olympic committees have seen on site, Poland is fully qualified to host the Olympic Games"

With this new entrant, the race for the Summer Games in 2036 presents an increasingly diverse cast. Above all, Poland adds its name to a list of applicants who have never organized the event before. It includes India, Indonesia, Qatar, Hungary and Egypt. The battle promises to be exciting.