South Africa intends to “apply to organize the Olympic and Paralympic Games” in 2036 or 2040, Minister of the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, indicated on Thursday (13), without specifying the name of the final host city.
South Africa, the first country on the continent to organize the FIFA World Cup, in 2010, will open a “continuous dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee, currently headed by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry.
Ntshavni explained during a press conference that this is an “initial and exploratory commitment.”
Cape Town applied to host the 2004 Olympics, which ended up being held in Athens, after a vote in 1997.
“The government is convinced that South Africa is ready and able to host the Olympic Games, given the level of its infrastructure and the fact that the investments needed to improve it are not significant,” the minister declared.
During a visit to the country in October 2024, former President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, considered that South Africa had “the stability, infrastructure and vision to host the Olympic Games.”
Next year, Dakar will be the first city on the African continent to organize the Youth Olympic Games, from October 31 to November 14.
The next Summer Olympics are scheduled to be held in 2028 in Los Angeles, while the next ones will be held in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
Amid the sporting onslaught, South Africa is a candidate to hold a Formula 1 Grand Prix at the historic Kyalami Circuit, near Johannesburg, from 2027.
The continent’s leading economy will also be the main host nation for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will also be held in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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