South Africa among seven to present 2036 Olympic bid in November as race intensifies
South Africa has been named one of seven countries that will formally present their cases to the International Olympic Committee’s future bid committee in November as part of the process to select the host of the 2036 Olympic Games, keeping it in contention to stage Africa’s first Olympics.
The South African proposal, which would likely be spread across Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, is regarded as a distinct outsider in a field led by Qatar. The seven bidding nations asked to present next month are Qatar, India, Hungary, Turkey, Germany, the Republic of Korea and South Africa, and the presentations represent the first stage of a process that will conclude with a vote in 2029.
Qatar is widely viewed as the frontrunner, a position attributed partly to the perceived strength of its bid and to the fact that Asia will have not hosted a Games since Tokyo 2020. The bid for a Doha Olympics would require scheduling outside the Games’ traditional July-August window because of heat, a factor noted in coverage of the bidding race.
India is considered the closest challenger to Qatar, though its bid centred on Ahmedabad is judged to have slipped back during the past 18 months. Concerns were raised following a visit to Lausanne in the summer of 2025 about mismanagement and governance issues at the Indian Olympic Association, a lack of detail in the bid, and India’s dismal performance in the Paris Games.
Hungary’s proposal, reported to involve not only Budapest but also Vienna and Bratislava, is described as very well regarded, yet commentary in the coverage questions whether Hungary’s new government shares the same appetite for hosting as the previous prime minister, Viktor Orban. Other bids are being viewed largely as placeholders aimed at 2040 rather than serious 2036 challengers.
Germany is cited among those seen as potential placeholders, with media noting potentially tricky optics surrounding a centenary Games. The IOC published a handbook that says bids will be judged on technical factors — including the venues and athlete experience, political and public support, and the ability to deliver a great Games and a long-term legacy — as well as the bidders’ broader vision.
“I was fortunate to compete at five Olympic Games, across four continents. Each had their own character,” said the IOC president Kirsty Coventry. “Each host brought something unique through its people, its culture and the way it chose to stage the Games. But wherever the Games take place, one thing must never change: athletes have to be at the heart of everything we do. “As an athlete, you spend years working to make your Olympic dream come true. The experience you have when you finally reach the Olympic Games stays with you for the rest of your life. That is why, for every future host, delivering the best possible experience for the athletes must always be the starting point.”
Other countries interested in bidding for 2036 have until the end of October to confirm their interest before nominations close; the IOC said it would conduct feasibility assessments by March 2027, that its executive board would open a “targeted dialogue with a select number of preferred hosts” in December 2028, and that a vote to select who will stage the 2036 Games will be taken in the summer of 2029.