Durban Could Represent South Africa In Bid For 2020 Summer Games

But government approval is required before Sascoc can submit a bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Although Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg are also interested in bidding, Sam said Durban is the likely candidate. "The economies of scale will tip it in the direction of Durban but that final decision has to be taken", he said.

The IOC's general assembly is being held in Durban in July and following the meeting the IOC will formally invite bids for the 2020 Olympics ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Sam acknowledged that an Olympics in South Africa would leave behind white elephant stadiums, but he urged the government to recognize that the benefits may be reaped only many years later.

He said that the number of post-Olympic events in venues "might not be at the scale that maybe others here (at SportAccord) that are economically minded" would want. "We are saying keep (the venues) there. In five years or 10 years' time (after the Olympics) we will be on the road and it will be utilized. (After) the years of sports isolation, because of our policies of apartheid, we are catching up with the rest of the world now. The faster we run, the better for us".

Sam said he expected the financial hit to be outweighed by the employment opportunities generated by the building projects.

The host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games will be announced at the IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013.