South African city Durban will Monday move significantly closer to staging the 2022 Commonwealth Games -- considered a possible launchpad for an Olympics bid.
A short ceremony in London is set to confirm the east coast city as the lone contender to stage the quadrennial, 71-nation multisport event.
The 600-page, 30-centimetre thick bid book will be handed to Commonwealth Games Federation officials during a brief mid-day ceremony at the official residence of the London Lord Mayor.
Bidding for the Commonwealth event is seen as a possible dress rehearsal for a 2024 or 2028 Olympics bid.
No African country has hosted either event.
South Africa have proposed a 12-day Commonwealth Games from July 18 -- birthday of the late Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Canadian city Edmonton also wanted to play host to the 2022 Games, but withdrew due to financial constraints.
The cost of staging the Commonwealth Games is a sensitive issue in South Africa, where a quarter of the active population is jobless.
Millions of South Africans lack running water and electricity and believe money used to fund the Games should be spent on basic services instead.
National government, local government and sports officials are tight-lipped about costs, saying only that the figures will be revealed Monday.
"The 2022 Games will be affordable," South African Olympic body boss Gideon Sam told reporters before flying to London.
"About 95 percent of the infrastructure is in place."
Sam says an economic impact study predicts visitors to the Games would spend 12 billion rand ($1 billion/928 million euros).
