This was confirmed by Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture Gayton McKenzie, who held a stakeholders meeting with the Games' governing body in Lausanne, Switzerland, alongside South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) president Barry Hendricks and CEO Nozipho Jafta.

The event earmarked for 2026 could be headed for South Africa, though the process is still in its infancy, with McKenzie stating the visit was to gauge the feasibility of investing in hosting the world's largest multi-coded sports competition.

"We are at the start of an exciting new process that could lead to South Africa hosting the 2036 Olympic Games," said McKenzie through a statement released by his department on Friday.

"The trip this week is the proud culmination of our meeting last month with Dr Bach during his visit to South Africa. It became clear in discussions with

him that bidding for an Olympics is no longer as difficult, prescriptive and expensive as it used to be, and that ti would be a very constructive and progressiveexperience."

According to the statement, the process will next see the IOC visit the country in the near future to conduct a feasibility study, and determine the potential host city or multiple cities could stage the Games.

"The Minister will report back to Cabinet on the process ahead, likely to play out over several months, before Government will make the decision to lodge an official bid for the IOC's Members to consider," noted the statement.

Hendricks earlier told SABC Sport that SASCOC is back in a stable enough financial position to be able to bid for and host major international events, including the quadrennial Summer Games.

Meanwhile, McKenzie is buoyed by the potential of South Africa becoming the first country on the continent to host the Olympics – like it did with the successful 2010 FIFA World Cup.

""The Government of National Unity under President Cyril Ramaphosa is all about reigniting the fire in the bellies of proud, patriotic South Africans to make South Africa the greatest country in the world.

"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 dream a reality," he concluded.

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