Since the inception of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, no African country has yet had the honour of hosting this global event.

But Egypt is preparing to put the continent on the Olympic World Map with the recent sports infrastructure development like the  Olympic city in which all international competitions and tournaments can be organized according to all the standards of the various federations. 

The modern Olympic Games is billed as the largest multi-sport event in the world, with a history dating back to 1896. Yet there’s a glaring absence on the Olympic map and on its logo of five rings representing the five inhabited continents: Africa has never hosted.

Africa’s journey to host the Olympics has been marked by ambitious bids and near misses. Egypt has made three previous attempts – in 1916, 1936 and 2008. The most notable bid came from South Africa, for the 2004 games. Despite making it to the final three candidates, Cape Town ultimately lost to Athens.

So the announcement of Egypt’s ambitious bid to stage the summer games in 2036 or 2040 represents not just the country’s aspirations but potentially a watershed moment for the continent.

The bid is backed by African Olympics boss Mustapha Berraf and will hope to build on the momentum of the Youth Olympic Games being hosted by Senegal in 2026.

The North African country is the favourite to host 2036 edition with all hosting infrastructure development already in place and  as a city from a continent that is yet to host the biggest sporting event in the World, This will give Egypt the edge over other countries  bidding to host the 2036 edition.

Egypt International Olympic City

Egypt has been building an International Olympic City complex in the new administrative capital in  east of Cairo since 2015 with the government pledging $78 billion to the ambitious project.

The Egypt International Olympic City  contains a 93,440 capacity stadium, main minor tennis courts, swimming pools complex, equestrian club, squash courts, manual and bow and arrow shooting ranges.

One of the projects in the Olympic City hosted the 2021 Handball World Championship and is currently being used to host the 2024 Handball Club Championship.

 In the Olympic  City, a number of sports and social clubs, and a large number of courts can be found inside. 

- A complex of swimming pools, including two Olympic pools; one with enclosure, and another opened. 

- A hall for martial arts, a hall for people of determination.

- A Gymnastics hall and changing rooms.

- An area dedicated to group games and a social building.

- A covered hall in the sports complex in the New Administrative Capital, which is built on an area of 10,000 square meters, and accommodates about 7,000 spectators. The total cost of the project amounted to about 1.4 billion pounds.

- A culture and technology building to research and encourage young people to implement their projects and work to develop their skills and abilities. 

- 3 stadiums to be dedicated to host major tournaments such as: the World Cup, and Olympic Games.

- A complex of football fields, including 4 fields of legal dimensions, five-a-side fields, tennis courts, squash courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, beach soccer fields, a hockey field, and other multi-purpose fields.

- A group of sports facilities built according to the latest international standards. 

- An integrated area for children (cultural, entertainment, and theater) and an administrative building.