The president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, who is not seeking a third term from 2025, has just completed a “farewell tour” on the African continent. In Kenya, the 70-year-old former foil fencer, Olympic champion in 1976, called on African countries to embark on the adventure of organizing the Olympics.
2 mins
After a ten-day trip through five countries on the African continent, Thomas Bach took advantage of a press conference in Kenya, in Nairobi, to affirm his desire to one day see the African continent host the biggest sporting event in the world. If Los Angeles will have the opportunity to host the 2028 Olympics and Brisbane those of 2032, the rest must be written for 2036.
“ For the Games to take place in Africa, an African country must show interest in their organization. I know that a number of African countries are able to organize the event after all the reforms we have undertaken. You can apply for the 2036 Games. The countries that submitted their applications are not even all part of the G20 nations. There are many opportunities thanks to these reforms “, he indicated. With Agenda 2020+5, the IOC has profoundly changed the process of selecting host cities. To reduce the cost of the Games, priority is given to existing equipment.
Egypt for 2036?
Who could enter the race? For the moment, if theEgypt is not officially in talks with the IOC for 2036 or 2040, the country is often cited among the candidates. During a press conference at the end of Paris 2024, Mustapha Berraf, the president of the Association of African National Olympic Committees (ACNOA), once again mentioned the country of the Pharaohs to host the first Games on the continent . Egypt built not far from Cairo “the International Olympic City”a sports complex notably equipped with a 90,000-seat stadium. Egypt tried its luck for the Summer Games in 2008, but was not selected by the IOC in the short list of the five finalists. South Africa had applied for the 2004 Olympics.
Long excluded from major international events, with the exception of the Football World Cup in 2010 and the Rugby World Cup in 1995 (South Africa), Africa is preparing to host the Youth Games in Dakar in 2026, reserved for athletes aged 15 to 18. Next year, for the first time in their history, the Road Cycling Worlds will take place at Rwanda. Morocco will host part of the World Cup tournament in 2030 with Spain and Portugal.