On Saturday (the 26th), the German Confederation of Olympic Sports (DOSB) announced Munich as the country’s candidate to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. The city’s selection comes two days after Berlin, the capital, withdrew, announced by the local mayor in the middle of the week.
The bid also included the joint candidacy of the Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr region. The choice was announced at an event held in Baden-Baden, which was attended by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, responsible for the announcement.
The decision was explained by the Minister-President of Bavaria, Markus Söder. “We are thinking about all of Germany.” “The Cologne bid made things very difficult for us and quite tense until the end.”
“I want us to work together to bring the Games to Germany. It is an opportunity for something historic and we want to give our all to present ourselves as a united country, from north to south and from east to west.”
In October of last year, Munich held a referendum to determine whether the local population was in favor of hosting the Olympic Games. Nearly two-thirds of voters (66.4%) approved the idea, with a turnout of 44% of eligible regional voters.
If it manages to win the bid, the city could host the event for the second time in its history. In 1972, as part of West Germany, Munich hosted the Summer Olympic Games. That edition was marred by the “Munich Massacre,” a terrorist attack that killed eleven members of the Israeli delegation.
The same Olympic Park has undergone modernization in recent years and is one of the trump cards for Germany to host the competition. The country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, congratulated Munich after the selection.
“Germany has an Olympic candidate. Munich will enter the bid on our behalf, and I warmly congratulate the state capital and the Free State of Bavaria for that.”
