TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko `Jokowi` Widodo welcomed President of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Fahad Al-Sabah and President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Saturday, September 1. Other than a discussion on the establishment of the 2018 Asian Games, they also talked about the Olympic Games 2032.

Jokowi said Bach and Al-Sabah praised Indonesia for successfully staging 2018 Asian Games and thus the government believed it could host the larger sporting events than Asian Games. “Indonesia plans to immediately submit a bid to be a candidate to host Olympic 2032,” said the president in a conference press today, September 1.

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The president went on to say that Bach and Al-Sabah appraised that Indonesia did not only prevail in hosting Asian Games but also able to highly encourage public interest on the games.

“They appreciate the massive participation of public and volunteers. This is [our] power [to host larger games],” Jokowi said.

Bach supported Indonesia’s effort to propose hosting Olympic 2032. “Congratulations Mr. President for the successful Asian Games. IOC appreciates Indonesia’s good intentions to host the 2032 Olympics,” the IOC chief remarked.

According to Bach, Indonesia has showcased success in every aspect needed to host Olympics. One of the matters is the public participation.

AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI