In a step away from convention, International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomed a bid from South Africa to host the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics. It came after a delegation including the South African Sports Confederation Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) met with IOC officials in Lausanne, Switzerland this week.
India had also sent in their Letter of Intent at the start of October to host the 2036 Olympics Games and Paralympics.
Gayton McKenzie, the South African Sports Minister, Barry Hendricks, president of SASCOC, Nozipho Jafta, the CEO of the organisation, held discussions with Thomas Bach, the IOC president.
The proposal was supported by the IOC Member in South Africa, Anant Singh, and IOC Honorary Member Sam Ramsamy.
“The IOC warmly welcomes this interest and the united commitment of SASCOC, the government of South Africa and the support of the IOC Member and Honorary Member in South Africa,” said Bach in an official statement.
“It has been presented to us today as a project to organise Olympic Games in South Africa – with and for the whole African continent. This project could one day lead to the first Olympic Games in Africa,” he added.
Initial discussions about the project have started between the South African team and the IOC, led by the Director of Olympic Games Future Hosts, Jacqueline Barrett.
During the meetings, the outlines for the bid were discussed, the procedure was explained, and a roadmap for the continuation of the consultations was agreed upon.
After the meeting, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said: “We are at the start of an exciting new process that could lead to South Africa hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. The Government of National Unity, under President Cyril Ramaphosa, is all about reigniting the fire in the bellies of proud, patriotic South Africans to make South Africa the greatest country in the world.”
Besides India and South Africa, “double digit” number of countries are interested in hosting the 2036 extravaganza. As per the IOC, there is interest from four continents in hosting the Olympic Games.
