What is Baden-Baden all about?
After several recent failed attempts, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) wants to apply for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games. The candidate is to be selected this Saturday at an extraordinary general meeting in the Kurhaus Baden-Baden.
The result will then be officially announced by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and DOSB President Thomas Weikert.
The only options available now are Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region with Cologne at the center. Berlin withdrew its application shortly before the vote. After her election victory, the left's leading candidate Elif Eralp spoke out against running for office. She criticized the high costs of the application and questioned its benefits for Berlin. "I don't see any advantage," she said.
An evaluation by the DOSB published on Tuesday gave the capital the lowest chances among the applicants. Before that, Hamburg had already dropped out of the running after the population voted against the application in May.
Is there a favorite?
The DOSB evaluation commission sees Munich as having a minimal advantage. But the vote of the members is crucial. For this purpose, the leading Olympic associations, the DOSB executive committee and some personal members - including national soccer player Leon Goretzka - awarded a total of 144 votes.
By the way, you can follow the announcement of the result live on ARD. It will be broadcast live from 1:45 p.m. on Erste and on ARD-Sportschau.
What do politicians say about the project?
The federal government around Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) supports a German application. “With her, we are investing in the future of our country,” said Merz in advance. The current state governments in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have also pledged their support.
The candidacy is also of particular concern to the new Minister of State for Sports, Ronald Rauhe, himself the canoe Olympic champion at Tokyo 2021. When he took office at the beginning of the month, he called for an application that was supported by sport, politics and “above all the people in our country”. Rauhe campaigned for a “Generation Olympia” - “with children who have role models.”
Where is the international competition?
Qatar, India and Turkey have already registered interest for 2036. Observers initially believe that the Asian candidates have good chances, as the games have recently been awarded to western cities several times (Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028, Brisbane 2032). This is also why Germany has not yet decided on a specific year, in the hope of increasing its chances.
What does Germany want to score points with?
Both German candidates promote sustainable games and rely primarily on existing infrastructure. Rhine-Ruhr wants to distribute the competitions throughout the region. With more than 17 million tickets, it could also be the games with the most spectators in history.
Munich also advertises short distances and can point to a lot of experience in organizing major sporting events. Just a few days ago, the city was awarded the contract for the 2028 Champions League final and the 2031 World Athletics Championships. In both cases, the sailing competitions could be outsourced to Kiel or Rostock-Warnemünde.
When were the games last in Germany?
Germany has hosted the Summer Games twice, in Berlin in 1936 and in Munich in 1972. The Nazis abused the world event of 1936 to a considerable extent for propaganda purposes. A new German application for 2036, a hundred years later, is therefore viewed with some criticism. In any case, it would have a great historical responsibility, as Federal President Steinmeier emphasized in advance.
Munich 1972 was supposed to go down in history as the “cheerful games,” but was overshadowed by an assassination attempt on the Israeli team. Eleven Israelis and a German police officer were killed.
Afterwards, several German initiatives failed due to international competition or resistance from their own population.
What happens after the vote on Saturday?
