Why Africa Has Never Hosted the Olympic Games As Egypt, South Africa Prepare Bid

Why Africa Has Never Hosted the Olympic Games As Egypt, South Africa Prepare Bid

  • Africa is the only content in the world that has never hosted the Olympic Games, with the earliest possibility of doing so being in 2036 after Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032
  • The cost of hosting the Olympics is significantly overwhelming, with Paris spending approximately 1 trillion to bring the 2024 Games to fruition
  • YEN.com.gh posed the question to the International Olympic Committee President and looks at why hosting the Olympics is a tall order for any African country

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African athletes produced breathtaking performances at the 2024 Olympic Games, held in July and August this year. Letsile Tebogo, Beatrice Chebet, and Tatjana Smith were among the many standout performers in Paris, France.

But even amid the struggles, joy, near-misses, raw emotions and all that comes with the Olympic games, it wasn't lost on us that Africa is the only continent that has never hosted the games.

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Beatrice Chebet, women's 5000m, Paris 2024, why Africa has never hosted the Olympics
Beatrice Chebet celebrates after winning the women's 5000m at the 2024 Paris Games. Photo by Ben Stansall.
Source: Getty Images

The current crop of athletes might not participate in an Olympics on African soil, given that the next Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028 before heading Down Under in Brisbane, Australia, four years later.

IOC welcomes South Africa interest to host 2036 Olympic Games

Egypt and South Africa have already expressed interest in hosting the 2036 games. The IOC has already welcomed the idea of the latter hosting the games, but it is easier said than done.

South Africa looks like a perfect place to host the games, given the country's previous experience hosting big events—the 2010 FIFA World Cup comes to mind.

However, the Olympics are a different ball game, given that all the sports are held in one city, with only a few outsourced to nearby towns depending on infrastructure.

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What does it take to host the Olympics?

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An Olympic host must have world-class venues for at least 40 sports, training facilities, and accommodation for over 10,000 athletes and their entourage. The infrastructure must also be up to date and able to accommodate the high number of visitors with minimal to zero interruption.

It is for this reason that hosting the Olympics has always been, until now, a preserve for wealthy countries. For a continent that is still struggling with power outages and poor transport networks, the financial burden of hosting the Olympics looks like a stretch on paper.

How much does it cost to host the Olympics?

France spent a staggering $8.2 billion (around 1 trillion Kenya Shillings) to host the 2024 Games, according to Market Watch. Of this, $3.2 billion was spent on developing and upgrading Paris' infrastructure. Tokyo 2020 used around $13 billion.

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To put this into further perspective, South Africa's budget for transport and logistics for the financial year 2024/2025 is $6.3 billion, according to the National Treasury.

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Closer home, a trillion is a quarter of Kenya's total budget for 2024/2025.

Benefits of hosting the Olympic Games

Hosting the games has benefits, such as creating job opportunities, attracting tourists, and improving the country's infrastructure long-term, but there is no guarantee that countries can recoup their monies afterwards. Rio 2016 lost around $2bn, while Tokyo 2020 lost $800m, as per an ESPN report.

The 2004 Olympics, hosted in Athens, have also been cited numerous times as a reason for Greece's collapse.

IOC President Thomas Bach speaks on Africa hosting the Olympics

However, outgoing Olympics President Thomas Bach insists that African countries need to take the first step and bid to host the games, before IOC steps in to help.

"If Africa wants to host the Olympic Games, they need to present a proposal that we can discuss in our new format of the allocation of the Olympic Games," the 1976 Fencing champion told this writer during an AIPS Young Reporters Round Table discussion.

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"We are at the disposal of any country to develop an Olympic project in accordance with their long-term development plans."

Which African country can host the Olympics?

Realistically, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco are the three African countries that could host the Olympics in the near future. Morocco could have divided attention at the moment, given that they are planning to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup but for South Africa, the plan is on.

"Building around the vision of the first African Olympics will bring us together and showcase Africa to the world, which is what has driven us to start asking the question of what can be done to make this vision a reality," said Gayton McKenzie, the Sports Minister of South Africa.

Lyles sends message to Tebogo

YEN.com.gh also reported that Noah Lyles, the 100m Olympic champion, sent a heartfelt congratulatory message to Botswana's Letsile Tebogo after finishing second to him in the 200m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

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Lyles acknowledged the challenging year Tebogo endured following the loss of his mother and commended his resilience and determination in securing the historic win.

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Source: TUKO.co.ke

Authors:
Richard Nutakor avatar

Richard Nutakor (Sports Editor) Richard Nutakor is a digital media enthusiast with over 8 years of working experience in media and digital marketing. He's worked with notable media brands in Ghana like Media General, owners of TV3 Ghana, 3FM, Onua FM & Connect FM. He's also worked with Global Media Alliance as a Digital Account Manager. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Ghana in 2016 and a Masters in Brands and Communication Management from the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Email: richard.kekeli@sportsbrief.com

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