India faces tougher competition for 2036 Olympics as South Africa officially joins race

India will be bracing for stiffer competition in its bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games with South Africa joining the race on Thursday. Unlike India though, South Africa is expanding its net by announcing its bid for two different editions of the Olympics, hoping to land the 2040 Games if not 2036.

The ‘Rainbow Nation’ had made history 15 years ago by becoming the first African country to host the FIFA World Cup. And they will be hoping to achieve another first 15 years from now – or 11 if they happen to beat India and a host of other nations to the 2036 Games – by hosting the first ever Olympic and Paralympic Games in Africa.

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“South Africa initiates its intention to bid for the 2036 and 2040 Olympic Games,” minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in a press briefing. Ntshavheni added that Pretoria has entered into a “continuous dialogue with the International Olympic Committee”, the global body currently headed by Zimbabwean swim legend Kirsty Coventry.

It is as a “preliminary and exploratory engagement that is critical to advance South Africa’s intention to bid for the hosting rights of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” added Ntshavheni.

Will Cape Town enter another Olympic bid?

A host city is yet to be specified in South Africa’s bid for the 2036 and 2040 Olympics. Cape Town had previously bid for the 2004 Games, and had finished third behind Athens and Rome in the voting that had taken place in 1997.

And given its popularity as a global tourist destination, Cape Town might end up getting picked as the host city once again. Durban had previously won the bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games but had withdrawn in 2017 due to financial constraints, with the United Kingdom’s Birmingham hosting it in the end.

India, meanwhile, has named Ahmedabad as the host city in its bid to host the 2036 Games, with the city also bidding for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Other nations that have confirmed their bids for the 2036 Games are Qatar (Doha), Turkey (Istanbul) and Chile (Santiago). The 2028 Olympics will be taking place in Los Angeles, USA while Australia’s Brisbane will be hosting the 2032 edition.

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Besides the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa has also hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup among other major multi-nation sporting events. It will also be hosting the 2027 Cricket World Cup and is also hoping to return to the Formula 1 calendar around the same time.

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SA’s existing infrastructure good enough to host Olympics, feels minister

In his visit to South Africa last year, then-IOC chief Thomas Bach had described the country as one that had “the stability, the infrastructure and vision to stage an Olympics”.

And Ntshavheni, for one, feels that South Africa will be able to host the Olympics with its existing facilities, and will not have to go out of its way and spend a fortune on building new facilities.

“Even if we are offered the games tomorrow, cabinet is confident that we should be able to host them with our facilities,” she said.

Meanwhile, Senegal’s Dakar will be hosting the first Youth Olympics on African soil next year, with the event set to run from October 31 to November 14.

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