Olympic bid: Munich and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr in the final

Munich and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr feel they are on the finish line on the way to becoming German Olympic contenders, but the capital Berlin no longer seems to play a major role. According to the final report from the DOSB evaluation commission, the race for the national representative for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games is entering its final phase.

The commission sees Munich (87 out of 100 points) just ahead of Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr (85) and clearly ahead of Berlin (74.6). On Saturday (from 1:45 p.m./ARD) in Baden-Baden, the decision will be made at an extraordinary general meeting, which Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and DOSB boss Thomas Weikert will announce live.

Is there a duel between Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia with Cologne at the top? And who will secure the most of the maximum 144 votes in Baden-Baden? A breakdown of the completed work of the evaluation committee.

Where is Munich ahead of Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr?

The big plus of Munich is the short distances. As with the 1972 Games, the Bavarian capital plans its competitions centrally. The travel times were calculated by the DOSB based on the travel time at three in the morning from the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Munich was clearly at the top in both the DOSB's and the associations' assessments. Berlin also ended up ahead of Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr in these two categories. Overall, Munich's assessment in the main area of ​​“sports and operational suitability” was rated as the strongest of the three concepts.

It is also noticeable that Munich performs better in several categories with the Olympic associations than with the DOSB. Possibly an indication that the hosts from 1972 also have a good chance on Saturday. Because then 42 Olympic associations vote with three votes each. Anyone who gets the majority of these associations on their side has an excellent chance of winning the national contract.

Where is Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr ahead of Munich?

Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr's trump card is the number of 17.6 million tickets, which puts the application well ahead of the other two participants. The DOSB rated both the ticket potential and the possible daily viewers with the highest score of 100 - especially in the second aspect, the two opponents fell significantly behind against the North Rhine-Westphalia conurbation.

According to the DOSB, Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr is also at the top in the “International Sports Radiance” category with 100 points and is clearly ahead of Berlin (82) and Munich (74.5). The associations that evaluate the sport-specific locations see Munich ahead of Berlin and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr. When it comes to international appeal outside of sport, Berlin is well ahead of Munich and Rhine-Ruhr.

Where are the rivals (virtually) on par?

When it comes to the stability factor. Munich received the highest score of 100 points, while its rival from North Rhine-Westphalia got just under 99 points. In this case, the result of the referendum was used, which was slightly better in Munich (66.42 percent) than in Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr (65.87 percent). It didn't matter that fewer people in the “Leading City” of Cologne agreed than in many outlying towns. Only the overall result was calculated.

What do those involved say?

Both Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia see the commission's vote around DOSB boss Weikert as a success. "Munich's Olympic dream is getting closer! The results of the evaluation commission show that our concept has also convinced the experts from the DOSB and the federal government," said Munich's mayor Dominik Krause.

The Green politician, who replaced Dieter Reiter (SPD) as head of the metropolis this year, added: “We are convinced that with Munich and Bavaria, Germany can make an offer that has the best chances on the world stage.” But Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr also sees itself as still in the running given the small gap.

"Our application received a very good grade, together with the Bavarian application we are neck and neck in the best possible category. This shows that the decision on Saturday will certainly be a very close race," said North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU).

What about Berlin?

After the events of the past few days, the capital appears to have virtually no chance. After the Left clearly became the strongest force in the election on Sunday as an opponent of an Olympic bid, the already slim chances continue to dwindle. Olympic representative Kaweh Niroomand sees the commission's result as a smaller obstacle compared to the statements made by election winner Elif Eralp.

“The much more tragic thing is that Ms. Eralp wiped the entire application off the table within 45 seconds, thereby causing enormous uncertainty among the associations and thereby absolutely reducing our chances,” said the 73-year-old to the German Press Agency.

While Munich and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr had successful referendums, in Berlin only the House of Representatives voted with a majority in favor of an application - but still under the black-red coalition, which was voted out in the House of Representatives election on Sunday. The DOSB Commission viewed the fact that the population was not surveyed as a penalty.