Indonesia has officially joined bidding to host the 2032 Olympics after its success hosting the Asian Games last year.
The Olympics have never been held in Southeast Asia, only in China, Japan and Korea.
But Indonesia is not the only country planning a bid for 2032. India is planning to bid and North and South Korea have confirmed an intention to launch a joint bid. Australia and Russia have also expressed interest.
“Indonesia is ready to host the Olympics,” said Muddai Madang, spokesperson for President Joko Widodo in an interview with The Associated Press. “What we need now is support from all the Indonesian people and the international community.”
Indonesian cities Jakarta and Palembang co-hosted the 18th Asian Games in August, and it was a successful venture.
There were doubts Indonesia could successfully host the Asian Games, the AP reported, an event involving more than 10,000 athletes, but its reasonably smooth execution was praised by the IOC, paving the way for a tilt at even bigger sports events.
Read the full AP article here.