Annika Hytönen
It would be naive to think that the IOC would not even consider awarding competition hosting to Russia, writes journalist Annika Hytönen.
Vladimir Putin will probably get what he wants if the IOC continues on the same line. PDO
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced again on Sunday they want to host the Olympics.
Although at the moment competing in Russia seems like a distant and almost impossible idea, in reality, the realization of Putin’s wish is now closer than it has been in a long time.
The 2026 Olympics saw Russian and Belarusian athletes who competed with neutral status, but Russia was allowed to participate in the Paralympics with national symbols. The IOC has already shown in previous years that it is not afraid to award the hosting of games to disputed countries.
For example, the Chinese Olympics in 2008 and 2022 were widely criticized for human rights violations and restrictions on freedom of speech. Similarly, Russia was allowed to organize the Olympics in 2014 despite the violation of human rights.
The IOC has reformed the selection process for the host cities of the Olympic Games so that it favors countries with already existing venues, in order to build as few new competition buildings as possible in the future. The reform was necessary because, for example, the construction project for the Rio Olympics 2016 was completely unwise and unethical. The project was unprofitable, harmful to the environment and claimed human lives.
On the other hand, the reform naturally reduces the number of potential host countries. Russia is one of the few countries that has the infrastructure required for the Olympics. In that sense, Russia would be an attractive option for the IOC.
Russia has not officially participated in the Olympics in the 2020s. The country was excluded from Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 due to a doping scandal.
In February 2022, Russia started a large-scale war of aggression in Ukraine, which is still ongoing. Because of the war, Russia was left out of the Paris Olympics 2024 and the Milan-Cortina Olympics 2026, although the Russians were seen as neutral athletes without national symbols at the games.
However, the war in Ukraine may already be over when Russia is able to host the Olympics next time. In that case, the protests of the Europeans will not necessarily prevent the organization of the Games in Russia. Previous decisions have shown that the IOC’s attitude towards Russia is, on average, more sympathetic than that of the Europeans.
The Olympic host countries have already been chosen until 2032. The 2036 Summer Olympics will probably be held in Qatar, India, Indonesia or Germany, and the 2038 Winter Olympics in Switzerland. Hosting Russia would therefore only be realistic in the 2040s.
It would be naive to think that the IOC would not even consider awarding the competition hosting to Russia – especially if the 2036 Games are held in the Middle East. Qatar’s human rights violations are widely known, and the country has maintained friendly relations with Russia.
It would not be a long way from the Qatar Olympics to the Russia Olympics.
