SASCOC names Durban as preferred host city for 2036 or 2040 Olympics

If the bid holds, Africa would host a Summer Olympics for the first time since the modern Games began in 1896. Officials have not published a cost estimate, and any proposal would need to address venues, transport and other facilities. How the bill would be split between national government and host cities is still unsettled.

Durban beats Cape Town and Johannesburg

SASCOC named Durban at Olympic House in Johannesburg on 29 October, after an independent panel spent October 2026 assessing Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Acting president Lwandile Simelane said Durban would be the main candidate in what is likely a multi-city bid, with some events held elsewhere.

Ruben Reddy chaired the evaluation panel. He said Durban could stage at least 65% of the sports and venues in a compact area, leaving a gap the bid period is meant to close. "So there is still a gap and that is why the bid starts 10 years out, so that we can prepare for this," Reddy said, according to Daily Maverick. Durban is South Africa's third-largest city, with roughly four million residents on the Indian Ocean coast. Cabinet approved government backing for the bid, IJR reported.

Durban was floated as an Olympic host more than a decade ago, after the 2010 World Cup, but no formal bid followed, largely because of cost concerns.

No price tag, and a Commonwealth Games precedent

Officials said on 29 October that they could not yet give cost estimates for hosting the Games. IJR noted one report citing an exploratory value of R500 billion, a figure SASCOC has not confirmed.

Durban has been here before. The city won the right to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games and lost it in 2017, after missing delivery deadlines that included forming a local organising committee within 180 days. The national government had budgeted roughly R4-billion for those Games, while Commonwealth Sport required a much higher amount, and Birmingham hosted instead, Daily Maverick reported.

Seven countries, no shortlist yet

South Africa is one of seven countries pursuing the 2036 Games, alongside India, Qatar, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and Turkey. The IOC set 31 October as the deadline for national Olympic committees to formally declare interest. Its board is due to approve a shortlist in March.

The entry step is a letter, not a bid book. "To enter, the National Olympic Committee of the country concerned submits a letter to the IOC confirming the name of the Interested Party it is proposing to host a future edition of the Olympic Games," an IOC document quoted by The Eastleigh Voice says.

Durban's venue plan

The bid centres on Moses Mabhida Stadium, the 56,000-seat venue built for the 2010 World Cup, the first World Cup staged in Africa. Under the initial proposal Durban would host the Olympic Village, the opening and closing ceremonies and between 60 and 70% of the programme, according to KarloBag.eu. The evaluation panel's 65% figure, reported by Daily Maverick, measured sports and venues in a compact area.

SASCOC says it will lean on existing and refurbished venues and temporary infrastructure rather than new build, following the IOC's New Norms approach. Simelane framed the legacy test at the announcement. "Success will not be measured only by the facilities we build or the spectacle we present," she said, according to gsport. "It will be measured by what remains after the final medal has been awarded".

Ramsamy, identified by Daily Maverick as a SASCOC honorary member, said questions about the 2022 Commonwealth Games should go to Commonwealth Sport. "Since 2022, when South Africa rejected the guarantees that the Commonwealth Games Federation (now Commonwealth Sport) wanted, we were right," he said.

What happens next

SASCOC is due to present its hosting vision to the IOC Future Host Commission in November 2026. Feasibility reviews are scheduled to conclude in March 2027. The 2036 host is expected to be chosen in mid-2029, with 2040 held as a later option.

SASCOC president Barry Hendricks has been suspended since September 2026 while allegations against him are investigated, Daily Maverick reported. The suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing.