South Africa has reportedly settled on its preferred candidate city to host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in either 2036 or 2040, putting forward the coastal city of Durban. The announcement was made by Lwandile Simelane, acting president of the country's sports and Olympic confederation, amid mounting questions regarding the nation's economic readiness.

According to official statements, the country's major economic powerhouses, Johannesburg and Cape Town, were supposedly evaluated as potential candidates before authorities selected Durban, a city of approximately 4 million residents. Planners claim the initiative will likely involve a multi-city framework, distributing various sporting events across multiple urban centers rather than concentrating solely on a single location. *

Critics and financial analysts remain highly skeptical about the feasibility of the project, pointing to Durban's previous failure to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after the city was stripped of the event due to unfulfilled financial guarantees. Furthermore, local officials admitted they are currently incapable of providing reliable cost estimates for staging the Olympics, raising concerns over potential budgetary overruns and economic strain.

South Africa faces fierce international competition, competing alongside six other nations including India, Qatar, South Korea, Germany, Hungary, and Turkiye for the 2036 hosting rights. The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to review initial presentations and narrow down the candidate shortlist in the coming months, with a final decision anticipated by mid-2029.

Source: www.aljazeera.com