Cape Town, who bid unsuccessfully for the 2004 Games, have claimed that they were not advised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) that the deadline for submitting an application was the end of July.

Pieter Cronje, a spokesman for Cape Town, said yesterday the "two-paragraph letter" received from Sascoc was "open-ended".

He added: "All we are saying is before we failed in our bid to host the 2004 Olympics there was an extensive sit-down process.

"This time we just heard that Durban was chosen, which came as a surprise."

Cape Town now want the opportunity to submit their own bid for SASCOC to consider.

"We would like to consider the possibility of a bid, but it's no small exercise," said Cronje.

"But there should be enough time for the city to express interest."

It is a request that SASCOC are considering, especially as Durban have admitted that they are still in the preliminary stages of planning their bid.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not open the bidding process for 2020 until after their Session in Durban next July, where they will choose the host cities for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

The host for 2020 is due to be announced by the IOC at its Session in Buenos Aires in 2013.

"It really is too early to speculate on anything," said Michael Sutcliffe, the Durban city manager.

"What we have said is that we have the backing of SASCOC for Durban but there still is a fair amount of work to do.

"The bidding process opens in mid-July next year, so it is premature and improper for us to talk about our bid or about other cities - more so because Durban is also hosting the International Olympic Committee next year."

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