South Africa “intends” to “apply to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games” in 2036 or 2040, Minister of Presidency Khumbudzo Nshabeni hinted this Thursday (13th), without naming the eventual host city.
South Africa, which was the first country on the continent to host the soccer World Cup in 2010, is set to begin an “ongoing dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently chaired by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry.
This is a “preliminary and exploratory commitment,” Ntshabheni explained at a press conference.
Cape Town applied to host the 2004 Olympics, but a vote in 1997 ultimately led to Athens hosting the games.
The minister declared: “Government is confident that South Africa is ready and capable of hosting the Olympics, given the level of South Africa’s infrastructure and the fact that the investments needed to improve it are not insignificant.”
During a visit to the country in October 2024, former IOC president Thomas Bach believed South Africa had the “stability, infrastructure and vision to host the Olympics.”
Next year, Dakar will become the first city on the African continent to host the Youth Olympic Games from October 31st to November 14th.
The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, and the next in 2032 will be in Brisbane, Australia.
Amid a sporting offensive, South Africa is in the running to host an F1 Grand Prix at the historic Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg from 2027.
The continent’s leading economy will be the main host of the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will also be held in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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