Hosting the Summer Olympics for 2036 is the big ambition set by Indonesian nominee Prabowo Subianto for his nation. This audacious scheme highlights Indonesia’s ambition to take front stage for major events worldwide. Prabowo was in France last week for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris along with Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, a well-known champion of bringing major sporting events to Indonesia. They went to underscore Indonesia’s plans to host the 2036 Games by visiting President Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A Dreamy Past
Indonesia has not just tried once to land the Olympics. Incumbent President Joko Widodo suggested Nusantara, the planned new capital city of the island of Borneo, host of the 2032 Games in 2019 This answered issues with Jakarta’s infamous traffic, but it also begged more questions regarding the timeliness of the new metropolis. Costing $32 billion, Widodo’s Nusantara project aims to convert 2,560 square kilometers of East Kalimantan into a functioning green smart metropolis. Though Nusantara has great potential, building on it has been slow; many doubt its capacity to host an Olympics-style grand event.
Challenges in politics and economics
Further increasing the uncertainty are slowness on the Nusantara project and expected changes in priority under Prabowo’s administration. Prabowo’s campaign obligations would cause analysts to worry that Widodo’s main agenda would be subordinated to Investors are unsure about this, which has discouraged overseas businesses from making investments. In November Widodo claimed that although letters of intent from Singapore, China, and Japan had been received, so far there had been “no real investment”.
Geographic Challenges in Geopolitical Terms
Furthermore complicating Indonesia’s Olympic dream are her tense political relations with Israel. The government’s position on Israel could make it more difficult for it to organize an international event inviting involvement from any suitable nation. Apart from the economic uncertainty, this geopolitical element shapes the surroundings where Indonesia’s Olympic aspirations fit.
Public Relations Approach
Political analyst Yohanes Sulaiman of the University of Jenderal Achmad Yani in West Java, Indonesia, said that the most recent Olympic proposal could be considered as a “public relations move” aiming to convince investors of its committment to Nusantara development. Aiming for the Olympics, Indonesia wants to show its commitment to infrastructure development and global participation in spite of great obstacles ahead.
Indonesia’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics is evidence of its aim to be front stage globally. Still, approach to this aim presents geopolitical and economical difficulties. The success of this plan will rely on the nation’s capacity to solve these problems, guarantee investment, and project a consistent and competent picture to the world community. Indonesia will be under Prabowo’s direction watched to see if it can realize its Olympic dream.
