By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@ReutersPhoto.
South Africa has expressed interest of becoming the first African nation to host the Olympic Games following a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A delegation traveled to IOC headquarters is Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday to initiate Continuous Dialogue, a phase of the bid process that allows interested parties to discuss their projects without any commitment and in strict confidence.
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie led the delegation that included South African Sports Confederation Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) president Barry Hendricks and CEO Nozipho Jafta.
“We are at the start of an exciting new process that could lead to South Africa hosting the 2036 Olympic Games,” McKenzie said.
Thomas Bach, who will step down as IOC president when his final term concludes next June, last month encouraged bids from Africa during an official tour of the continent.
Bach said, “Africa is on the rise and South Africa has the stability, the infrastructure and vision to stage an Olympics.”
Now a feasibility study will be launched with the assistance of the IOC to determine which cities or regions will be included in a possible Games, and then McKenzie will report back to cabinet before the government decides whether to lodge a bid.
The IOC has no set timetable for the election of future hosts but it is expected that one or more preferred candidates could be selected as early as 2026.
Other regions interested in 2036 include Hungary, India, Istanbul in Türkiye, Indonesia, Santiago in Chile, South Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and east coast city Durban was awarded the Commonwealth Games in 2022 only to have it stripped after failing to meet financial commitments. Durban also staged the IOC’s 123rd Session in 2011.