VIRTUALLY all the pieces needed to compile South Africa's most compelling bid to host the Olympic Games came together on Sunday.
VIRTUALLY all the pieces needed to compile South Africa's most compelling bid to host the Olympic Games came together on Sunday.
What's actually left is for the three most eligible cities - Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town - to compete for the right to champion the country's bid. This follows two historic meetings on Sunday between International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge and President Jacob Zuma at the closing ceremony of the World Cup.
The other one was between Rogge and SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president Gideon Sam.
The target will be to host either the 2020 or 2024 Summer Games. Rogge urged SA to bid for the Games after success with the World Cup.
"We are looking into that. We are excited that the IOC is giving developing countries an opportunity to host the Olympic Games," Sam said.
"From the start, when South Africa were named as World Cup hosts, we all knew the country would be able to organise the tournament," Rogge said.