Pancontinental Olympics? Watanabe Morinari’s Audacious Vision Fuels Outside IOC Presidential Bid

Championing a New Approach

Japan’s Watanabe Morinari has centered his bid to become the first International Olympic Committee president from Asia on an unprecedented idea: staging the summer games on five continents simultaneously. Declaring his candidacy for the IOC presidential election, he stated that the Olympics have grown so large that the economic and environmental burden makes it difficult for most cities to host them. What is more, the games have become a means for powerful countries to wield their geopolitical influence, further sullying their public image.

Watanabe, who heads the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), proposes replacing the current single-host system with one featuring five host cities on five continents. He also proposes increasing the number of sports from 32 to 50, with each city holding 10 events each. The benefits of such a bold makeover, according to Watanabe, would include fostering greater interest by bringing people on each continent closer to the Olympics, reducing the burden on local governments to open the way for smaller cities to be hosts, and enabling sponsors to more efficiently run advertising campaigns and other promotional activities. The global scale would also mean that events would be taking place somewhere in the world without pause, making a 24-hour rolling broadcast possible.

Watanabe Morinari states his case for being the next IOC president at the governing body’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on January 30, 2025. (© AFP/Jiji)

Considered a long shot to succeed Germany’s Thomas Bach as IOC head, Watanabe was never an Olympian. As a member of the gymnastics team at Tōkai University, though, he spent time studying in Bulgaria, where he built connections within the Eastern European rhythmic gymnastics community. He went on to be director of the sport business division of supermarket chain operator Jusco (now Aeon) and was a board member of the Japan Gymnastics Association before being elected head of the FIG.

In seeking the IOC presidency, he joins a seven-candidate field that is dominated by such notable figures as British athletics legend and World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s sports minister Kirsty Coventry, and Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., now IOC vice president. Also in the running are France’s David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Faisal al-Hussein, and Swedish-born Johan Eliasch. The elections to choose the next IOC chief will be held in Greece on March 18–21.

Enhancing the Olympic Movement

The Olympic Charter states that in principle, the IOC entrusts the hosting of the Olympics to a single city. This does not exclude a pancontinental Olympics, though, as the charter allows for the selection of multiple cities, regions, states, or countries, although to be fair it is unlikely that the drafters ever imagined Watanabe’s vision of holding the games simultaneously across five continents.

To many, though, Watanabe’s idea runs contrary to the spirit of the Olympics. The games are said to be more than just a gathering of the best competitors of each sport, but a celebration of excellence, respect, and friendship. The Olympic Village is a symbol of this ideal, with athletes, officials, and team staff from different sports and countries coming together to live, interact, and build connections in the belief that such comradery contributes to a peaceful society.

At the same time, it could just as easily be argued that a pancontinental games would bring the Olympics closer to the idea of the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from around the globe, as symbolized by the Olympic Rings.

Growing Interconnection

From a technical standpoint, too, staging the Olympics across five continents is not a far-fetched concept. Watanabe points to the technological advancements in areas like travel and communication that have interconnected the world in the twenty-first century as providing opportunities for exploring new models for the Olympics.

During the pandemic, new means of online communication rapidly advanced, and even the sports world began to overcome the hurdles presented by physical distances of competitors. A Virtual Tour de France, for instance, was held in 2020 that featured remote competitors racing on stationary bikes connected online. There is also the growing popularity of e-sports, in which players compete completely online, with the inaugural Olympic Esports Games slated to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027.

Cycling avatars compete in a virtual stage of the Tour de France in July 2020. The event was put on by the indoor training app Zwift and other organizations. (© Zwift)

World Cup Example

The Olympics can look to the FIFA World Cup as a guide to staging a competition in multiple countries. Soccer’s premier event was traditionally held in a single country, but for the first time in 2002, the tournament was cohosted by two nations, Japan and South Korea. The 2026 tournament raises this number to three, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States sharing hosting honors. In 2030, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will be the main hosts, with one match each to played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to mark the centenary anniversary of the tournament, bringing the total to six countries on three continents.

FIFA has seen shifted toward multicountry bids to host the World Cup. Members of the Uruguay/Argentina/Chile/Paraguay joint bid watch the FIFA Congress from Asunción, Paraguay, in December 2024. (© Reuters)

Facing Climate Change

A pancontinental approach to the Olympics is becoming necessary in the face of a warming planet. Changing patterns in snowfall, for instance, present a challenge to the Winter Games as the number of areas that receive adequate snowpacks dwindles. In 2026, the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be held at venues spread across four areas in northern Italy. Skating and ice hockey will take place in Milan, while events like skiing will be staged in Cortina d’Ampezzo some 260 kilometers away, with the valleys of Valtellina and Fiemme also hosting competitions.

The skiing and snowboarding events at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in the town of Livigno in the Italian Alps, over 200 kilometers from Milano. (© Jiji)

Global warming is raising a different set of concerns for the Summer Olympics in the form of extreme heat. Speaking to Reuters in September 2024, IOC Vice President Samaranch suggested that in countries prone to extreme heat, the timing of the Summer Games could be shifted to the winter months—a nod, perhaps, to the wealthy Middle Eastern nations that appear likely to continue bidding for host rights despite their scorching summer temperatures. Watanabe, meanwhile, argues that staging the Olympics across five continents would create the best conditions for the athletes by ensuring events are held in climates suited to the sports.

Strengthening Unity

Current geopolitical trends present a host of pitfalls to any attempt to reshape the Olympics. Watanabe’s proposal faces major challenges as the world grows more and more divided over the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere. The next IOC president will also have to navigate a cultural environment shaken by the actions of US President Donald Trump, whose move to ban transgender women from female sports could have repercussions for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The IOC promotes inclusion, fairness, and nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations, stating in its framework that no athlete should be unfairly excluded from competition based on how they identify, their physical appearance, or for being transgender.

However, Sebastian Coe has expressed support for Trump’s view on excluding transgender athletes from women’s events, saying that there must be clear rules. Friction over the issue can be expected to ramp up ahead of the Los Angeles games.

It is no easy task to overcome divisive forces and bring the world closer. Even relations between long-time allies like the United States and Europe have become strained over issues including security and military aid to Ukraine. It is at such times, though, that the Olympic movement, with its emphasis on fostering a culture of peace by overcoming national, racial, religious, and gender barriers, is more important than ever. The next IOC president will need the integrity and strong leadership to resist political pressure and truly unite all five continents.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, right, and International Gymnastics Federation head Watanabe Morinari at the women’s gymnastics medal ceremony at the Paris Olympics on August 1, 2024. © Xinhua/Abaca Press/Kyōdō News Images.)