DOSB President Thomas Weikert has ruled out a German bid for the next but one Olympic Winter Games.
“2030 is too late. Everything is already in the works”, said Weikert at a hearing of the Sports Committee in the Bundestag. The 2034 Winter Games and the 2036 Summer Games would be considered for a new German attempt for the Olympics and Paralympics.
The next winter games are assigned to Milan and Cortina for 2026. The Summer Games will be held in Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032. The International Olympic Committee wants to decide on the host for the 2030 Winter Games in autumn next year.
Sapporo, Vancouver or Salt Lake City?
In addition to Sapporo, Vancouver and Salt Lake City have so far been considered promising contenders. German Olympic applications had recently been unsuccessful in series, also because the citizens were against it – for example when trying to host the Winter Games for 2022 with Munich and the Summer Games for 2024 with Hamburg.
The DOSB Presidium wants to make a new attempt at the Olympics in the medium to long term. But Weikert emphasized: “We don’t want the attempt at any price.” First, a majority of the population must be convinced. “People have to be taken along and heard. Only then can a process like this be successful.”said the head of the association.
Great skepticism so far – but euphoria in Munich
At the moment, skepticism about major sporting events is deeply rooted in Germany. The reasons given by Weikert were a lack of sustainability and gigantism, as well as the recent series of unsuccessful German applications. “The recent games in Beijing and the soccer World Cup in Qatar are not exactly suitable for convincing the critics of major sporting events in Germany.”admitted Weikert.
The DOSB doesn’t want to either “distract from temporary storms of enthusiasm” leave, as they have recently given to the successful multi-EM in Munich.
The anti-corruption expert Sylvia Schenk warned against hasty attempts to apply. “We are not ready for the Olympics. We urgently need to start training and make a good training plan.”said the head of Transparency International’s Sport Working Group.