South Africa has selected the coastal city of Durban as its preferred candidate to host the 2036 or 2040 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, potentially bringing the first Olympic Games to Africa.

The decision was announced Thursday by Lwandile Simelane, acting president of the South African Olympic committee.

Simelane said Durban, the country's third-largest city, would lead South Africa's bid, which is expected to involve multiple cities, with some events potentially held elsewhere.

Johannesburg, the country's economic hub, and Cape Town were also considered as possible host cities.

Durban emerged as a potential Olympic host more than a decade ago after South Africa staged the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first to be held in Africa. However, the country did not submit an official bid at the time, largely because of concerns about the cost of hosting the Games.

South African officials said Thursday that they could not yet provide an estimate of the potential cost of staging the Olympics if the country's bid succeeds.

South Africa is among seven countries seeking to host the 2036 Summer Olympics. The other contenders are India, Qatar, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and Turkey.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to select the host city for the 2036 Games in mid-2029.

The IOC has set Oct 31 as the deadline for national Olympic committees to formally express their interest in bidding for the 2036 Olympics.