The European Olympic Committees (EOC) welcomes Poland’s expression of interest in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2036. Polish President Andrzej Duda’s announced on Wednesday that Poland’s “ambition and intention is to start efforts to organise the Summer Olympic Games in 2036”.

The announcement follow’s Poland’s very successful hosting of the European Games Krakow Malopolska 2023 earlier this year. The European Games saw 7,000 European athletes compete in 26 sports with many qualification spots earned for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

EOC Executive Committee member and Chair of the Coordination Commission for the European Games, Mr Hasan Arat, praised Poland for its work during the European Games and expressed the EOC’s belief that Poland have the capabilities to host the Olympic Games.

Arat said: “It was a great honour to serve as Chair of the European Olympic Committees’ Coordination Commission for the European Games Krakow Malopolska 2023. Our Polish friends have already successfully demonstrated they have what it takes to organise big international sporting events of the highest quality. Many future Olympians qualified for the Games in Krakow and the Malopolska region earlier this year. From everything the EOC saw there, Poland is well qualified to host the Olympic Games too.”

Poland’s expression of interest comes as the ninth European Week of Sport draws to a close and European sports leaders prepare to head to Istanbul for the EOC’s 52nd General Assembly on 6 and 7 October.

More than 300 representatives from the IOC, European National Olympic Committees (NOCs), future Olympic and Olympic Winter Games Organising Committees and others will gather in Türkiye to reflect on the successes of 2023 and a critical period for European sport, underlined by the forthcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.