|
 "The biggest fish to catch is the 2024 Olympics," the Business
Day newspaper on Tuesday quoted Mbabula as saying.
"Sport plays a role in terms of infrastructure development," he told
reporters, adding South Africa's president Jacob Zuma had already
indicated the country was ready to host the Games.
It is a major shift in policy for South Africa who last year said
the cost to host an Olympics would be too high.
Cape Town lost out in the bid for the 2004 Olympics in the first
attempt by an African city to host the Games.
Durban was touted to bid for 2020 but plans were put on ice after
the government said it would be too expensive but since last year
there have been several signals of a change of heart.
Bidding for the 2024 Olympics will begin in 2015 and the
International Olympic Committee will decide the winner in 2017. The
next Olympics in 2016 will be held in Rio de Janeiro while Tokyo
will host the 2020 Games.
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An African city is in line to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games with
expressions of intent due by next month.
The next Commonwealth Games are in Glasgow later this year and on
Australia's Gold Coast in 2018.
South Africa hosted the soccer World Cup four years ago, spending
more than $3 billion in infra-structure costs.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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