25 November 2024 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomed a proposal from South Africa on Wednesday to begin outline discussions over hosting the Olympic Games in 2036. It follows a visit from a delegation from the country to Olympic House in Lausanne.
The move comes as the IOC welcomed South Africa’s Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, the President of the South African National Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Barry Hendricks, and the CEO, Nozipho Jafta, for a meeting with the IOC President. The proposal was strongly supported by the IOC Member in South Africa, Anant Singh, and IOC Honorary Member Sam Ramsamy, who also joined the meeting.
Initial consultations about the new project have already started between the team from South Africa and an IOC team, led by the Director of Olympic Games Future Hosts, Jacqueline Barrett. The outlines were discussed, the procedure going forward was explained, and a roadmap for the continuation of the consultations was agreed upon.
President Bach welcomed the interest of South Africa in hosting the Olympic Games.
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. 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. Thomas Bach – IOC President
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.”
Building around the vision of the first African Olympics will bring us together and showcase Africa to the world, which is what has driven us to start asking the question of what can be done to make this vision a reality. Gayton McKenzie – Sports Minister of South Africa
SACOC President Barry Hendricks added: “As SASCOC, we are ready and able to engage with our parent body, the IOC, to host the world’s greatest sporting spectacle.”
There are no longer the old prescriptions on how a Games can and should be done, and a South African Olympics has the potential to showcase all the wonders of our country and inspire a new generation of athletes to achieve greatness from not just South Africa, but the whole African continent. Barry Hendricks – SACOC President
Currently there are a double-digit number of Interested Parties from four continents discussing hosting a future edition of the Olympic Games with the IOC.
For more information, including the latest status of the hosting project, we would encourage you to contact the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
