There is no doubt: the campaign for the Summer Olympics in 2036 is well underway. And it is in full swing. As evidenced by the succession of visits to Lausanne, to the Olympic House, by envoys from candidate cities or countries. In the space of two weeks, Thomas Bach received representatives from South Africa, Hungary and Chile. The South Africans were the first to visit the IOC headquarters. Their delegation was led by the Minister of Sports, Gayton McKenzie, accompanied by Barry Hendricks, the President of the South African NOC (SASCOC), and Nozipho Jafta, the Director General. South Africa has officially entered the dialogue phase with the Future Host Commission for the Games in 2036. Next visit: Chile. Same cast for the delegation from Santiago: the Minister of Sports, Jaime Pizarro, and the President of the NOC, Miguel Ángel Mujica Brain. The two men discussed with Thomas Bach " Chile's interest in organizing a future edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games". During the same week, Hungary sent its best ambassador within the Olympic movement to Lausanne: Balázs Fürjes (pictured above, with Thomas Bach). Former head of Budapest's bid for the 2024 Summer Games, now an IOC member, he was accompanied by the president of the Hungarian NOC,Zsolt Gyulay. The three men discussed " the possible organization of an edition of the Olympic Games in Hungary", according to the official version of the IOC, but without specifying the deadline.
