Hong Kong, 26 November 2025: “It’s not the winning, but the taking part.” I doubt Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt had the famous words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin on his mind as he stormed to 100m gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Only victory would do. Sitting near the finish line, I was privileged to witness his triumph, in a world record time, a jaw-dropping feat that remains burned in my memory.
We have Coubertin – known as the father of the modern Olympics – to thank for that golden moment and countless others. Born into the French aristocracy in 1863, he was a champion of the common man, embracing his nation’s values of liberty, equality and fraternity, and encouraging sports participation. The good baron’s grand vision was to revive the fabled Olympic Games – a dream that was realised in 1896 with the first modern edition in Athens.
The lightning Bolt is long retired, but who next? And could it happen in Hong Kong? Following the success of the just-completed National Games – held across the burgeoning Greater Bay Area, which encompasses Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province – there is growing momentum to the campaign for the same region to bid for the 2036 Olympics.
Fanciful? Certainly not. The 2036 Working Group, comprising business leaders and sports officials, has been preparing diligently for more than two years, gathering support, aligning potential stakeholders and evaluating what needs doing. The National Games has been a showcase. “This is not drawing board imagination. Rather, it is a vivid demonstration of our capability and vision,” insists chairman Geoffrey Chan. You sense Coubertin would toast his ambition. Sports minister Rosanna Law is also talking up a potential bid by the “super-strong alliance” of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
Former International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach is a fan, urging the GBA to “go for it” after watching the National Games rugby sevens at our impressive Kai Tak Stadium. OK, he says the same to every potential bidder, but his words do offer encouragement: “You have many world-class sports facilities, you have a sports-loving public, you have all the ingredients.” Music to Hong Kong’s ears from Bach, then.
So far, so good. Except the 2036 race hasn’t even started and, already, some daunting opponents are limbering up. Qatar, Turkey, India, Indonesia and Chile are confirmed bidders. Saudi Arabia, boasting serious geopolitical and financial clout, remains a possible runner while already hoovering up major sporting projects: LIV Golf, Saudi Pro League football, big-time boxing, the 2029 Asian Winter Games (no, really), 2034 Asian Games and, that same year, the minor matter of the FIFA World Cup.
Still, we can believe. After all, the GBA is a fast-emerging powerhouse, with a population of 86 million and GDP of US$2 trillion. Roads, railways, ports and airports, cutting-edge technology, drive and ambition. Cross-border co-operation? Over 200,000 Hong Kong and Macau residents work in Guangdong, drawn by promising prospects, booming industries and talent subsidies. We have plenty going for us. This includes the necessary deep pockets. Hong Kong alone has bank deposits exceeding US$2.4 trillion, a 10% increase on last year.
Sound financial management and sustainable solutions are essential. Paris spent US$8.7 billion hosting the last Summer Games but generated an estimated US$11 billion for the city’s economy. Many successful bids have learned from Montreal, the poster child for Olympic excess. The 1976 edition left the city with a US$1.5 billion debt that took three decades to pay off. Embattled stadium architect Roger Taillibert famously railed against “a level of organised corruption, theft, mediocrity, sabotage and indifference that I had never witnessed before”. Hardly consistent with Coubertin’s vision.
Acclaimed financial crime expert Ian Winter KC knows about such matters. I’m hugely grateful to him for delivering our annual Criminal Law Lecture at the University of Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago. Ian’s talk – entitled “Conspiracy to Defraud: Deceased or Only Wounded?” – offered a forensic analysis of how the offence has evolved over many centuries of common law and why it continues to stir debate. Fascinating stuff. As well, he was on top form in our fireside chat before a select audience at the China Club.
I’ve also enjoyed speaking with the former Honourable Madam Justice Bebe Chu, my latest guest on Law & More. Now retired from the bench but still practising law, Bebe has been a trailblazer for women in Hong Kong’s Judiciary and continues to radiate wisdom and humility. Please listen.
In closing, I’m looking forward to taking grandson Nathan to a stunning new exhibition – “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums” – at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. It features 250 artefacts, including urns, coffins, jewellery and a towering statue of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. “We believe our cultural legacy belongs not only to Egypt, but the whole of humanity,” says Egyptian deputy tourism minister Yomna El-Bahar, who flew in for the opening.
Nathan is super-excited. I’ll teach him soon enough about 2036 and the modern Olympics’ father – right now, we’re more interested in mummies.
Until next time, everybody!
Colin Cohen
Senior Partner
Boase Cohen & Collins
