Munich’s clear “yes” to the Olympic bid has consequences for the competition. Although Berlin and Co. speak of a tailwind, they could also quickly be blown away.
There was a lot at stake on Sunday in Munich. If even the favorite among the local Olympic candidates had failed in the referendum, things would have been bad for Germany’s ambitions for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Olympics. Never before had an Olympic citizen vote in this country had a positive outcome. This time too there was a countermovement and doubts.
But the necessary simple majority was achieved. What’s more: 66.4 percent yes votes with a record voter turnout of 42 percent meant an unexpectedly clear success for the pro-Olympics faction. Although opponents called for an unfair trial with a publicly financed advertising campaign, there are also other reasons for the change in mood.
Söder: “Now we are flooding the DOSB with our arguments”
Lutz Thieme, sports scientist at the University of Koblenz, attributes the result, among other things, to the fact that the people of Munich have had good experiences with major sporting events in recent years – such as the European Championships 2022. “That’s why many people now seem to have a good feeling about what the Olympics can do for the city.”said Thieme to the sports show.
In Munich the relief was great and quickly mixed with brisk tones. “I think this will also leave an impression on the DOSB,” said Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder. “Now we are flooding the DOSB with our arguments.”
Munich drives the competition ahead of it
The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) organizes the selection process, has already extended several timetables and is giving the candidates until mid-2026 to hold referendums – if desired. While Berlin is not planning a binding citizens’ survey, North Rhine-Westphalia will not vote until April 19th and Hamburg on May 31st, 2026. Bayern, on the other hand, have rushed ahead and can now drive the competition ahead of them.
“Munich is in pole position for now, which makes the task more difficult for the others”said Thieme. The competition from Hamburg, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia (Rhine-Ruhr region) unanimously congratulated and spoke of Tailwind for your own aspirations. But the first calls are already coming from Munich to shorten the procedure.
Mayor Reiter wants an early decision
According to Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD), it needs to be clarified with the DOSB, ““We’ll see how we continue to deal with the challenge within Germany, whether we really do it for a year or not.”
Happy: Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter
The challenge in question, i.e. the competition between the four candidates, has been criticized. It was originally intended to be avoided and results in high costs. Citizen participation alone costs several million euros.
NDR survey shows Olympic skepticism in Hamburg
It seems questionable that others can achieve approval ratings like those in Munich. In debt-plagued Berlin, there is great skepticism about the Olympics. North Rhine-Westphalia would have to achieve a positive vote in every single municipality involved. And in Hamburg there is a current, non-representative one A survey by Norddeutscher Rundfunk shows widespread rejection of 60 percent.
Munich is now likely to push for Germany to unite behind one application, namely Munich’s. This was originally planned in order to avoid toxic competition with several losers.
DOSB general meeting determines procedure
In an initial reaction, DOSB board chairman Otto Fricke stuck to the planned procedure. “I see it in a very sporting way. The first out of four qualified.” The DOSB will “completely democratic” decide at its general meeting in September 2026, “Which one of the four is the best result – according to all the criteria that are then necessary in order to then convince at the international level.”
However, there is also the general meeting in 2025, on December 6th in Frankfurt am Main. And Fricke had also emphasized that this meeting was crucial for further action.
Signal to the IOC
The details of how the applications will be evaluated are still open anyway. It is also completely unclear when and how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will award the 2036, 2040 and 2044 Summer Games. However, the IOC will take note of the Munich election results and note that, after many miserably failed attempts, Germany once again has a concept with broad support among the population.