Hosting the Olympics is both a great honor for the country and many financial and legal difficulties. When deciding to apply to host the Olympics, a country commits itself to cope with all the difficulties within a certain time frame.
Strictly speaking, not a country is chosen to host the Olympics, but the city itself. That is, you cannot submit an application from a country, and then, having received approval, decide in which city to conduct it. First, a country chooses a city or several cities that are most suitable for hosting the games.
As an application, the city must provide a kind of booklet - it usually resembles a multi-page color advertisement, but the structure is much more complicated. The application brochure contains a project that describes the city's capabilities, infrastructure, geography, natural conditions and much, much more. Not so much the conditions that have already been created are indicated, but also the potential opportunities of the city and the country.
The political situation can play an important role in the choice of the country. For example, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is unlikely to approve the application of a state in which there are frequent riots or hostilities, even if it has an extremely developed infrastructure.
As for the city, it must meet some mandatory criteria. First of all, it should be a popular city, the name of which is on everyone's lips. This is not necessarily the capital of the state. For example, the 2014 Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, not Moscow, since the geographical conditions of Sochi are much better suited for hosting the Winter Games. In addition, both the summer and winter resort of Sochi, even before the start of the Olympic construction, had a good infrastructure and a set of sports facilities.
So, the country must submit an application-booklet to host the Olympics in a particular city 7 years before the proposed games - such a long period is necessary so that, if successful, all the Olympic facilities declared in the booklet can be built in the city. Then the members of the evaluation committee make trips to the declared cities and give their opinion on the advisability of holding the games.
Many countries can apply for the same Olympics. After the initial selection, no more than five remain - it is among them that the choice of a new Olympic capital takes place. Voting is secret, members of the selection committee have the right to vote.
