Olympic S' Africa to Bid for 2020 Olympic Games
Johnson Ayantunji
15 July 2010



Lagos — Barely three days after its successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup, South Africa, has signified its intention to bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) which announced this on Tuesday also said that Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg are being considered possible bid cities.

South Africa's Olympic body said the announcement, just two days after the World Cup final in Johannesburg, "comes in the wake of resounding international acclaim for the manner in which South Africa staged the 2010 FIFA World Cup."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, who met with South Africa president Jacob Zuma in South Africa over the weekend, said the IOC would welcome a bid from South Africa.

Rogge attended Sunday's World Cup final and praised the country's organization of the world's biggest soccer tournament.

"From the start, when South Africa was named as World Cup hosts, we all knew the country would be able to organize the tournament," Rogge said on Monday.

"Now it is up to you as a nation to decide if you want to host this (the Olympics) event," he said.

SASCOC said the successful World Cup and the "endorsement" of a possible Olympic bid by Zuma led to the decision to proceed with the 2020 effort.

"We have decided that the way forward would be to engage government and key stakeholders," SASCOC chief executive Tubby Reddy said, "but our intention is to provide a world-class city capable of hosting Africa's first Olympic Games in 2020."

Reddy invited possible candidate cities in South Africa to contact him directly as to what's required to bid for the Games.

Zuma's spokesman, Zizi Kodwa, said SASCOC's decision had not yet reached the president's office but stressed the World Cup proved South Africa could stage the Olympics.

"In terms of our capacity, there is no event that we cannot host," Kodwa said in an interview with a news agency.

It will be South Africa's second Olympic bid. Cape Town finished third in the race for the 2004 Games, behind winner Athens and Rome.


The IOC's decision on the host for the 2020 Olympics will be made in 2013, but preliminary bids must be submitted next year. So far Rome is the only city to formally announce it will bid for 2020.

Durban, which is South Africa's third-largest city, will have a chance to impress Olympic officials when it hosts the 123rd IOC session in July 2011 - where the host for the 2018 Winter Olympics will be announced.

South Africa spent billions of dollars on stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup.

Durban was one of the nine World Cup host cities and built the Moses Mabhida Stadium for the tournament. The oceanside facility has a capacity of 72,000, space for an athletics track and an adjoining indoor arena.

By then Malema should be in charge. That will make for an interesting scenario.
Maybe he will play the "Boer" song at the opening ceremonies and make killing white farmers a sport.

Rich
DRSS