‘Africa Is ready’: Rwandan minister makes case for Olympic Games hosting rights

Rwanda’s Minister of Sports, Nelly Mukazayire, has called for a more inclusive Olympic Movement, saying Africa is fully ready to host the Olympic Games, despite the continent never having staged the world’s biggest sporting event. ALSO READ: Kagame slams elitism in global event hosting at UCI Congress Speaking during a panel discussion titled “The Future of the Olympic Movement: Challenges and Prospects” at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2026 in Russia, Mukazayire said the Olympic system should reflect all continents rather than remain concentrated in a few regions. ALSO READ: How Rwanda turned the UCI World Championships into a festival of joy “The future Olympic Movement must be truly global, not concentrated in a handful of regions, but representative of every continent and every people. Africa is ready to shoulder that responsibility,” she said. “Rwanda’s experience has shown that when international sports federations choose Africa, they are not lowering standards; they are expanding the future of global sport.” Her remarks come amid growing calls for greater geographical balance in hosting major international sporting events, with Africa remaining the only inhabited continent yet to host the Olympic Games. The minister said Africa has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to successfully organise world-class sporting competitions and should now be trusted with hosting the Olympics. She pointed to Rwanda’s own experience in staging international events such as the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, noting that bringing global competitions to Africa not only raises sporting standards but also promotes economic growth, tourism, and infrastructure development across the continent. Despite producing many of the world’s greatest athletes across disciplines such as athletics, football, boxing, and basketball, Africa has never hosted either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The continent is, however, set to make history from October 31 to November 13, 2026, when Dakar, Senegal, hosts the Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first African city to stage an Olympic event under the International Olympic Committee.