South Africa Selects Durban as Preferred Candidate for 2036 and 2040 Olympic Bids

South Africa has named Durban as its preferred candidate city for bids to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in either 2036 or 2040. The announcement was made on Thursday by Lwandile Simelane, acting president of the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Simelane stated that Durban would serve as the main candidate city for the national bid, though the proposal would likely take the form of a multi-city bid with certain events held in other locations. Johannesburg and Cape Town were also evaluated as potential candidate cities before officials selected Durban, the country's third-largest city.

Durban previously drew consideration as a potential Olympic host following South Africa's hosting of the 2010 football World Cup. However, an official bid failed to materialize at the time due to cost concerns. The city was also later stripped of hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games after failing to provide required financial and other guarantees.

Officials reported on Thursday that cost estimates for staging the Olympic Games remain unavailable. Durban's proposed bid would center on the 56,000-seat Moses Mabhida Stadium, constructed for the 2010 World Cup.

South Africa joins six other nations bidding for the 2036 Games, including India, Qatar, South Korea, Germany, Hungary, and Turkiye. National Olympic committees faced an October 31 deadline to formally declare interest, with candidate presentations to the International Olympic Committee scheduled for the following month. The IOC plans to approve a shortlist of candidates in March, and the host city for 2036 is slated to be selected in mid-2029.

If successful, the bid would secure the first-ever Olympic Games held on the African continent since the modern Olympics began in 1896. Previously, Cape Town mounted an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Games.