A South African member of the International Olympic Committee said the nation will bid on an Olympics, but right now the focus is on Nelson Mandela, according to Around the Rings.
Mandela, 94, the former South African president, has been hospitalized for a month with a recurring lung infection. The latest report from The Associated Press on Tuesday was that he was in critical but stable condition and breathing with a respirator.
“We definitely will be bidding, but we don’t know which one,” IOC member Sam Ramsamy told Around the Rings. “We have to work that out. But with the situation with Mandela everything is put on the backburner. Without government support we can’t do it.
“My personal view is 2028,” Ramsamy said of when South Africa could bid for the first Olympics in Africa. “I think most of the cities are already lining up (for 2024) with Paris, a city from the USA looking at it and Qatar definitely.”
The United States Olympic Committee sent letters to more than 30 U.S. cities in February to gauge interest in a potential bid for 2024. It’s believed around 10 have either signed on or are considering it. The USOC hopes to narrow that list in December and decide on if to bid for 2024 next year.
Qatar is the controversial host of the 2022 World Cup, which could be moved from the U.S. summer to the winter to keep temperatures down. If so, it could run into or near the dates of the 2022 Winter Games.
South Africa became the first African country to host the World Cup in 2010. The nation was barred from the Olympics from 1964 to 1988 because of apartheid. It returned in 1992 and had its most successful Games since in London with six medals, including three gold.
“We could be a very good challenger to (the 2024 suitors), but we won’t decide until after September,” Ramsamy said.
On Sept. 7, the IOC will vote on the host of the 2020 Olympics. The finalists are Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo.
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