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The Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world. The international multi-sport competition is usually held once every four years.
The first Olympic games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent one was the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics which took place in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Since its inception, there have been 29 Summer Olympic Games held in 23 host cities, and 23 Winter Olympic Games held in 20 host cities.
The Olympics have mostly been held in the regions of Europe, and the Americas. Seven Olympic Games have been hosted in Asia and two have been hosted in Oceania. However, in its 125-year history, only one continent on the planet has never hosted an Olympic Games: Africa (other than Antarctica, of course).
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This article discusses five African countries that are capable of hosting the Olympics in the future.
1. Dakar, Senegal
Over the years, Senegal has made enormous progress when it comes to sports and infrastructure.
This was evident as the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics was chosen to take place in Dakar, Senegal. Thus will become the first-ever Games to be held on the African continent.
Although it is only the Youth Games, there is optimism that one day, the Summer Olympics Games will be held in Senegal. Senegal is one of the most politically stable countries in Africa and has been developing rapidly.
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa broke records when it became the first African country to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
The rainbow nation is one of the most developed countries in the African continent. In the 2020 Olympics, South Africa took 177 athletes to the event, the most out of all the other participating African countries.
They also participated in the most sports, among the African countries.
In addition, South Africa was the closest an African bid came to getting the Olympics in 2004, when Cape Town, South Africa, finished third behind Athens and Rome.
Hosting the Olympics could not be far off for South Africa, but it won't be an easy task. Recently, South Africa was stripped of the 2022 Commonwealth Games after its scaled-down budget was rejected.
There are many challenges to bringing the Games there, but they are positive that it could happen in a few years.
3. Cairo, Egypt
The North African nation has a rich history, and hosting the most historical sporting event in Cairo would be monumental.
Egypt has the best economy in Africa and has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
They have bid for the Olympics in the past. Egypt unsuccessfully bid for the Olympics in 1916, but it was canceled due to World War I.
They also showed interest with Alexandria in 1936 and 1940, but they didn't succeed. In 2008, Egypt bid for the Olympics with Cairo, but did not make the list of five finalists.
Nonetheless, there is confidence that the Mediterranean country would someday win a bid to host the Olympics.
4. Casablanca, Morocco
In 2015, it was reported that a Moroccan sports official promised to bring the Olympics Games to Casablanca, Morocco.
That would only mean that Morocco has the capabilities to host the Olympics in the near future.
Morocco has been home to some major sporting events such as the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, the 2013 International Youth Games, and the 2019 African Games.
5. Nairobi, Kenya
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently vowed the country would bid to host the Games in 2024.
Although they did not succeed, they showed intent. Bringing the Olympics to Nairobi would be a long shot, but it is something that could happen in probably a few decades.
The East African nation still has a long way to go in terms of sports infrastructure, but they are taking a step in the right direction.
There are a lot of difficult challenges to overcome when it comes to bringing the Olympics to an African city.
Hosting the Olympics requires a lot of infrastructure and coordination between dozens of sports federations and national Olympic committees.
Many countries also spend billions of dollars organizing an Olympics. Furthermore, many of the sports on the Olympic program are not popular in Africa.
Nevertheless, the development in Africa has been fast-paced, and there is no doubt that someday host the biggest sporting event will be held on African soil.
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Collins Nwokolo is an expert writer, blogger, and content marketer. He loves crafting beneficial content, and sharing them to everyone.
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