CAPE TOWN :South Africa plans to bid to stage the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government said on Thursday, and become the first host of the global event on the African continent.

Cape Town previously bid to host the 2004 Games that were staged in Athens, finishing third in the voting behind Rome, and is likely to be the city South Africa will put forward again.

The coastal city of Durban won the bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but pulled out in 2017 due to financial constraints, and Cape Town’s status as a global tourist destination appears to make it more viable.

Ahmedabad in India, Doha in Qatar, Istanbul in Turkey and Santiago in Chile have also previously confirmed their intentions to bid for the 2036 Olympics.

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