Durban selected as South Africa's lead city for 2036 Olympic bid
The coastal city will anchor a multi-city proposal against six other nations in a race to bring the Summer Games to the African continent.
By Sergio Morris ·
Durban will serve as the primary host city for South Africa's attempt to stage the 2036 or 2040 Summer and Paralympic Games. The decision positions the coastal metropolis as the center of the country's bid to become the first African nation to host the modern Olympics.
Lwandile Simelane, the acting president of the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee, announced the choice on Thursday. She stated that the bid would likely involve events spread across multiple locations. Simelane noted that Johannesburg and Cape Town were also evaluated as potential candidate cities before Durban was selected.
The city of approximately 4 million residents on the Indian Ocean coast has a history with major sporting events. It hosted matches during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first football tournament held in Africa. However, previous ambitions to host the Olympics stalled more than a decade ago due to cost concerns. Durban was later removed as the host for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after failing to secure necessary financial guarantees.
Officials have not yet provided cost estimates for the potential Olympic staging. They indicated that the bid will center on the 56,000-seat Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was constructed for the 2010 World Cup. The stadium's existing infrastructure is a key component of the proposed plan.
South Africa is one of seven nations currently competing for the 2036 Games. The other candidates are India, Qatar, South Korea, Germany, Hungary, and Turkiye. The International Olympic Committee set October 31 as the deadline for national committees to formally declare their interest. Candidates will present their cases virtually to the IOC next month to initiate the official process.
A shortlist of candidates is expected to be approved by the IOC board in March. The organization will select the final host city for the 2036 Games in mid-2029. If South Africa succeeds, it will be the first African host since the modern Olympics began in 1896. The country previously lost a bid to host the 2004 Games in Cape Town.
The Youth Olympics open this weekend in Dakar, Senegal. This event marks the first Olympic competition to take place on the African continent.
Source: Al Jazeera
