The Olympic Games are heading to…Chengdu?

Currently known as the city to visit if you want to see pandas, Chengdu is looking to put itself on the global sports map, with an official proposal to bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics. 

While most of the talk about the Olympics returning to China has centered on the 2022 Winter Games, it turns out the Summer Olympics may also be coming back to China, too.

As incredible as that sounds, lawmakers in Chengdu – which one forecast says will among the world’s top 30 cities by 2035 – have targeted hosting the 2036 Olympics

Ahead of the more famous national “Two Sessions” held each year in Beijing, cities around the country hold their own local editions, in part to figure out what proposals can be submitted to the main political council in the capital.

Pu Hu, a member of the CPPCC Chengdu Committee, recently submitted a proposal which calls for the city to bid for the 2036 Olympic Games. That sounds like a bold move, but there are a few connections here: at the closing ceremony of the recent Pyeongchang Olympics, China basically marketed itself as the home of pandas – and, as anyone Chinese person can tell you, Chengdu is where most of the cuddly creatures are found. What’s more, there’s even an official “Olympics Panda Family” at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center.

Author: AsiaSportsBusiness

Website: Tanner Simkins @TannerSimkins