Could there be an Olympic Games in the future where five cities on five continents host the Games simultaneously? It could become a reality if Morinari Watanabe, one of seven candidates running to replace Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee, has his way.
Japan’s Watanabe proposed the radical idea of hosting the Olympics in five cities on five continents during the same period.
This came to light after the IOC published a manifesto of seven candidates to appoint Thomas Bach as president in March this year. Watanabe’s radical proposal would allocate 10 games to each of the five host cities, meaning the Olympics could have a total of 50 games. He adds that his idea “would see the Olympics broadcast and streamed 24 hours a day, which would unite the world.”
Watanabe also noted in his manifesto that his proposal would enable more cities – even small ones – to consider hosting the games. Currently, the rising cost of hosting the Olympics has seen many cities shy away from hosting the most lucrative sporting event on earth.
“The Olympic Games have become so big that it is now financially and environmentally difficult to host in most cities. We will study the development of a new model of the Olympic Games,” Watanabe was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
Other contenders to replace Bach for the IOC presidency include Britain’s Sebastian Coe, Jordan’s Prince Faisal Al Hussein, Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., Zimbabwe’s Christy Coventry, Swedish-British Johan Elias and France’s David Lapartient.
An IOC member since 2018, Watanabe is the president of the International Gymnastics Federation. He was elected as an IOC member in 2018. He is currently a member of the Coordinating Commission for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and has been the Chairman of the Boxing Task Force since 2019.
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