Egypt to bid to host 2036 and 2040 Summer Olympics

By Reuters 11 August 2024, 2:19 pm

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Abdelrahman Abdelaziz Elsayed of Egypt competes during the men's +102kg weightlifting event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP/Kin Cheung)

Egypt will bid to host the 2036 and 2040 Summer Olympics, with the country’s improving infrastructure and sports facilities key for a successful African bid, says the head of the African National Olympic Committees Association (ANOCA.)

The continent has never staged an Olympic Games. Cairo last made an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Olympics.

The most populous country in the Arab world, Egypt has spent billions of dollars building facilities, stadiums and sports complexes in recent years as part of its plans to modernize the country.

The Egypt International Olympic City complex in the new administrative capital the country has been building east of Cairo since 2015 is expected to have a 93,900-capacity national stadium and 21 other sports facilities.

“Egypt will bid for 2036 and 2040,” Mustapha Berraf, head of ANOCA, tells a press conference on the day of the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The Algerian sports administrator said another African bid could potentially materialize with South Africa’s Cape Town considering an Olympic candidacy. He did not say for which Games it would bid, though.