IOC confirms India, Qatar among 7 bidders who want to host 2036 Olympics

GENEVA (AP) — India and Qatar finally got some clarity on Tuesday for their long-held ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics.

They are now in a formal contest with five other bidders, including one that would take the Summer Games for the first time to Africa. The International Olympic Committee set an Oct. 31 deadline for late arrivals to the contest.

India and Qatar have long been seen as favored candidates in a hosting contest the IOC aims to decide in 2029 by a contested vote of its 100-plus members. Those members include Nita Ambani from India's richest family, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and Turkey also are bidders in an open-ended process with the IOC that also lets them target future Summer Games in 2040 and 2044.

“But wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: Athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a two-time swimming gold medalist.

The IOC also published a 30-page document on Tuesday to guide bidders over the next 2 1/2 years when key decisions will be taken by the Coventry-chaired IOC executive board. Its 15 members include NBA great Pau Gasol representing athletes.

India’s bid plan centers on the city of Ahmedabad, which will host the multi-sport Commonwealth Games in 2030, and has the world’s largest cricket stadium which is named for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Qatar has hosted world championships in most top-tier Olympic sports, including soccer’s 2022 World Cup. Its bid could yet expand from Doha to send some events to Gulf neighbors.

A Qatar-hosted Olympics should require the Summer Games to move to later in the year from the July-August slot it has occupied at each edition from 2004 in Athens through 2032 in Brisbane.

A South Korean bid would be anchored in Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Summer Games, and spread across the country.

German Olympic officials last month picked Munich, which previously hosted in 1972.

South Africa’s bid shapes to be national and centered on Cape Town, and would be a first African host of the Summer Games since the modern Olympics was created in 1896.

Hungary and Turkey propose Budapest and Istanbul, respectively.

The key date is in March, the IOC said, when the board will approve a shortlist of candidates to develop detailed projects.

The 2029 target date for a contested vote is a return to the IOC’s previous long-time schedule and process to pick Summer Games hosts.

It is also later than seemed likely last year when Coventry was elected, and both India and Qatar seemed poised to push for a quick decision. They and other national Olympic officials promoted their bid plans in Paris during the 2024 Olympics.

Coventry’s first big decision on taking office in June 2025 was to pause the fast-track process, and more secretive one, which allowed Brisbane to be picked as the 2032 host fully 11 years in advance and without a contested vote.

IOC members stressed to Coventry they wanted to be more involved in the choice than was the case under her predecessor Thomas Bach, and to get a choice of multiple candidates on the ballot instead of simply confirming the board's preferred choice.

The invited group in the exclusive IOC membership club includes sports officials, current and retired athletes, members of royal families, politicians including former heads of states, business leaders and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani, left, looks at the Olympic Council of Asia flag as the as Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar holds it during the closing ceremony for the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after President Donald Trump said he would start paying for controversial taxpayer-funded ads with a campaign account, there's no sign he plans to refund the millions of federal dollars already spent on them.

Nearly $12 million worth of ads have already aired, according to AdImpact, as part of the $20 million the Department of Homeland Security tapped for the contract.

But Trump’s plan to pay for the ads with MAGA Inc. doesn’t mean there’s any reimbursement coming, said a White House official who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump said the ads were “really good” and “promotion for the country, done by many presidents before.” Asked whether he'd repay the funds already spent, he said, “We’ll decide.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Trump for not committing to reimbursement and said he believes the president’s plan for covering future costs represents illegal coordination with his super PAC.

“Trump must return this money to the American people and there must be a full investigation into this gross waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Schumer told The Associated Press.

The ads, which began airing in late September, glorify Trump and echo his political messaging going into the midterms. One features a clip of Trump talking about the threat of communism and another is a replay of an ad from his last presidential campaign. The fifth ad in the campaign began airing Tuesday, focusing on the Trump administration's capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Republicans and Democrats alike have said the ads aren't an appropriate use of U.S. government money. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said they shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars.

The Trump administration tapped $20 million from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying the president that have drawn widespread criticism. Two top Democratic senators said last week that the money is being drawn from Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” and was supposed to go toward U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, who chairs the panel that oversees DHS funding, said Tuesday that she had not yet seen Trump’s ads, but she said taxpayer money should be used as intended.

“We’ll take a look at that,” Britt said at the Capitol. “You want to make sure that any use of taxpayer dollars is done judiciously and in accordance with the law.”

Legal experts said the ads might even violate federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated money being used for “publicity or propaganda” and another limiting the partisan political activities of government employees.

The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements similar to what past administrations have done to promote policies. Trump on Monday posted on his Truth Social platform calling the ads “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” while also promising to pay for them with “money I raised for MAGA Inc.”

That is Trump’s political war chest, which had amassed more than $400 million by the end of July. Trump has begun tapping it to boost Republican candidates across the country in the midterm elections.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump gestures to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)