South Africa hope to host first African Olympics — SkimNews
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- South Africa has shown interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics and would become the first African host, with a plan to spread events across Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg; Durban withdrew from hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games in 2017.
- The IOC confirmed seven countries are engaged in "continuous dialogue" for 2036, with a 31 October deadline for submissions of stated interest, virtual presentations to the future host commission in November, and feasibility assessments to be completed by March 2027.
- India's bid centers on Ahmedabad, which will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and has bid for the 2038 Asian Games, with events planned at the Narendra Modi Stadium, reported to hold 132,000 spectators.
- Germany and South Korea are the two countries with prior summer-Games experience in the 2036 field — Berlin 1936 and Munich 1972 for Germany, Seoul 1988 for South Korea, whose bid also involves North Jeolla province.
- Istanbul is Turkey's nominated city after failing in bids for 2000, 2008 and 2020, but is slated to host the 2027 European Games; Budapest (Hungary) and Doha (Qatar) are the capitals behind those two first-time aspirant bids.
- Looking past 2036, the UK government said in May it is in "discussions about supporting potential bids" for the 2040s Olympics and Paralympics, and additional non-committal talks with other national Olympic committees are underway.
Why it matters: An African Olympics has never happened, so South Africa's three-city bid carries historic weight — but it must clear a March 2027 IOC feasibility assessment against five other first-time aspirants plus experienced hosts Germany and South Korea. The 2036 decision will lock in the geographic story of the Games for the two decades after Brisbane 2032.
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