The South African government has announced plans to bid for the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games, aiming to bring one of the world’s biggest sporting events to Africa for the first time.
South Africa was the first country on the continent to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010. “South Africa initiates its intention to bid for the 2036 and 2040 Olympic Games,” said Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni during a press briefing.
She mentioned that Pretoria has entered into “continuous dialogue with the International Olympic Committee,” led since June by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry. This engagement is described as “preliminary and exploratory,” critical for advancing South Africa’s bid for hosting rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, although no potential host city has been specified.
Cape Town previously bid to host the 2004 Games, which were ultimately awarded to Athens in a 1997 vote.
Ntshavheni stated that South Africa would not require significant investment to improve its already existing infrastructure. “Even if we are offered the Games tomorrow, the cabinet is confident that we should be able to host them with our facilities,” she added.
During a visit to South Africa in October 2024, former IOC President Thomas Bach remarked that the country has “the stability, the infrastructure, and the vision to stage an Olympics.”
Next year, Dakar in Senegal will be the first city on the continent to host the Youth Olympics, scheduled for 31 October to 14 November 2026.
The next Summer Olympics are set to take place in Los Angeles in 2028, with the 2032 Games awarded to Brisbane, Australia.
In October, voters in Munich approved a plan to bid for the Summer Olympics in 2036, 2040, or 2044. The German city last hosted the Games in 1972.
South Africa has been actively supporting international sporting events and has also bid to host a Formula One Grand Prix at its historic Kyalami track near Johannesburg starting in 2027.
Africa’s most industrialised economy is also the primary organiser of the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
