AFP, Jakarta :
Indonesia will bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, President Joko Widodo said Saturday following its successful staging of the 18th Asian Games.
Widodo said the Asian Games, hosted in the cities of Jakarta and Palembang over the past two weeks, have proved the country has the ability to host the world’s most prestigious multi-sports event.
“Indonesia has planned to immediately register itself as a candidate for the 2032 Olympics host,” he said, after talks with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and the head of the Olympic Council of Asia.
“With our experience in hosting the 18th Asian Games, I believe Indonesia will be able to host (an) event at larger scale,” Widodo added.
Bach, who is expected to attend Sunday’s closing ceremony, welcomed the announcement and said the Asian Games had been “very impressive”.
“I could congratulate the president on the great success of the Asian Games which is very impressive,” said Bach.
“Therefore the IOC really appreciates the candidature of Indonesia for the Olympic Games in 2032,” he added.
The Asian Games, which with 17,000 athletes and officials is similar to the Olympics in size, opened on August 18 with a spectacular ceremony.
Following Tokyo 2020, the next Summer Olympics will be held in Paris in 2024, and Los Angeles in 2028.
