Egypt will bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, Egypt’s youth and sports minister said in a statement on Saturday, a bid that, if successful, would make it the first Arab or African country to host the event.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has given the green light for a request, Minister Ashraf Sobhi added during a reception for International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach in Cairo.
In the statement issued by Egypt’s cabinet, Bach was quoted as saying that Egypt’s sports infrastructure can host the event.
Also, read; Mali’s PM Slams France, Praises Russia in Speech At UN
“Egypt has a solid sports infrastructure and if it can host the Olympics it will be historic,” Bach told a joint press conference with Sobhi.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, followed by Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia in 2032.
The application process to host the 2036 Olympics has not yet started, although there are reports of interest from countries such as Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Russia, India and Qatar.
Earlier this month, an Egyptian official announced that Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia were in talks to jointly host the 2030 World Cup.
Egypt hosted the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations as well as the 27th Men’s Handball World Championship in 2021.