The new IOC bidding process was approved at the
134th IOC Session on 24 June 2019 in
Lausanne, Switzerland. The key proposals, driven by the relevant recommendations from Olympic Agenda 2020, are: • Establish a permanent, ongoing dialogue to explore and create interest among cities/regions/countries and National Olympic Committees for any Olympic event • Create two Future Host Commissions (Summer and Winter Games) to oversee interest in future Olympic events and report to the IOC executive board • Give the IOC Session more influence by having non-executive board members form part of the Future Host Commissions. The IOC also modified the
Olympic Charter to increase its flexibility by removing the date of election from 7 years before the games and changing the host as a city from a single city/region/country to multiple cities, regions, or countries.
Potential reform The change in the bidding process was criticised by members of the German bid as "incomprehensible" and hard to surpass "in terms of non-transparency". Following the election of
Kirsty Coventry as IOC president in 2025, she announced a review of issues facing the Olympics, including the new bidding process. Details on host city election reform were partly announced at the 145th IOC Session in 2026, which included more transparency and a proposed "short-list stage".
Future host summer commissions The full composition of the summer commissions, to oversee interested hosts, or with potential hosts, where the IOC may want to create interest, is as follows:
Dialogue stages According to Future Host Commission terms of reference with rules of conduct, the new IOC bidding system is divided into 2 dialogue stages are: • Continuous Dialogue: Non-committal discussions between the IOC and Interested Parties (City/Region/Country/NOC interested in hosting) concerning hosting future Olympic events. • Targeted Dialogue: Targeted discussions with one or more Interested Parties (called Preferred Host(s)), as instructed by the IOC Executive Board.
Confirmed bids Potential bids Africa the Olympic Games have never been staged in Africa, the only continent except Antarctica to hold this distinction.
Asia Europe North America Cancelled, suspended, or rejected bids Asia Europe North America ==Broadcasting rights==