South Africa has officially informed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the country is interested in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Led by Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie and the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) President Barry Hendricks, a delegation met with the IOC Future Host Cities team at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, November 22. Discussions centred on the opportunities and requirements for the country to host Africa’s first ever Olympics and positioned the country as an official interested party.

“South Africa’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics represents a bold step forward in our nation’s sporting journey,” said Hendricks. “Hosting the Games would showcase South Africa as a global destination of excellence and create a lasting legacy promoting sports development, infrastructure growth and national unity.”

Feasibility studies will now be conducted under the guidance of the IOC to determine the city, region or combination of places suited to hosting the Games.

McKenzie will report back to Cabinet on the process, likely to play out over several months, before a decision is taken on whether to lodge an official bid for the IOC’s members to consider.

McKenzie initially met with IOC President Thomas Bach in South Africa last month to discuss the country’s potential to host the Games.

“It became clear in discussions with him that bidding for an Olympics is no longer as difficult, prescriptive and expensive as it used to be and that it would be a constructive and progressive experience.”

According to the IOC, the costs of bidding have dropped by as much as 80% due to its “new norm” – a set of 118 reforms. The reforms focus on providing cities with increased flexibility in designing the Games to meet long-term development goals and assure more assistance from the IOC to make the event affordable, beneficial and sustainable.

Egypt has also voiced its intent to bid for the global sporting showpiece.

SASCOC CEO Nozipho Jafta, who was also at the IOC meeting, said South Africa has proven its ability to successfully host global events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“South Africa has the capacity, expertise and experience to deliver world-class events. We have done it. I truly believe this inspiring and exciting event will change people’s lives for the better. This was a fact-finding mission and we are excited about the opportunity,” she said.