Four regions compete: Olympic application – a competition that nobody wanted

Four German regions want to align the Olympics. The candidates are in position for a competition that was originally avoided? Important questions are still open.

Germany wants to align Olympic summer games, at least from the perspective of politics and organized sport. On the other hand, almost everything else is unclear. Is there an application for 2040? Or 2036? Or only in 2044? And above all: what does the concept look like?

While the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) can be opened in the year, the concept of several years of the Schlinger course movement comes into the concept of several years. The four interested regions are currently gradually presenting their plans and are to submit their documents to the DOSB by May 31. The applicant quartet: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and the Rhein-Ruhr region.

“One-Village principle” changes everything

A competition among several interested parties – that is exactly what should originally be avoided. In order to be particularly sustainable, the DOSB wanted to apply without even building a sports facility. Because this cannot guarantee this, it rose to work with several cities or even a nationwide application. They wanted to agree on a concept mutually, the plan said.

But then the DOSB brought the “one-village principle” into play. In the international Olympic committee, it was questioned, so it is important to ensure that as usual there is only a large Olympic village with short arrival times at the competition sites. There is no evidence that you insist on the IOC in a central location.

Four applications, at least three losers

The DOSB nevertheless changed its tactics with the result that there is now a national four -way fight that costs every applicant tax money and in which at least three of these initiatives will go away empty. Not all see this national competition critically. “It is good that four cities say: we want to do that”, says Wolfgang Maennig, rudder Olympic champion from 1988.

As a sports economist, he has dealt with the financing of Olympic Games in many ways. “Imagine the other situation: the Chancellor wants that and no city is ready. So it is a good sign that we have activity, have a certain desire to do that”, “ Maennig said the sports show.

Söder opened Competition

Unsurprisingly, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) opened the inner German Olympic competition. “If you want to be successful, then with Munich and Bavaria”, Söder said on Tuesday last week (May 20, 2025). Already at the end of 2024, he had fell in the Sportschau interview against the application from North Rhine-Westphalia: “The world knows the world cities of Munich or Berlin. It is questionable whether individual cities in the Ruhr area and the Rhine are internationally comparable and have a fascination like Paris or London.”

The constellation with North Rhine-Westphalia, where Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) works for the games on the Rhine and Ruhr, is politically exciting. Wüst is considered a possible Union Chancellor candidate after Friedrich Merz and is therefore automatically competing with Söder, who has been looking at the chancellorship for years. He has already made life difficult for Armin Laschet, the predecessor as a NRW state chief and Union Chancellor candidate in 2021.

Three-stage model of the DOSB

There will be many opportunities for friction among the four candidates, because the competition is likely to take more than a year. This emerges from the three-stage model that the DOSB developed. In level one, the sports roof association checks the concepts until September 2025. In level two, applicants have time to keep referenders – but they are not a mandatory.

In level three, the DOSB wants to select a concept together with the federal government and present an extraordinary DOSB general meeting to adopt by the end of September 2026.

Who decides?

This raises two questions: How well do the Olympic sports specialist associations find that in the end they should only have a concept at the general meeting? Especially, and that is the second question, is still completely unclear who previously makes the selection.

There will be a body of sports and politics that should determine the best of the four candidates. This was confirmed by DOSB board member Volker Bouffier on Wednesday at the sidelines of the presentation of the Rhein-Ruhr Olympic concept in Cologne. Bouffier could not say who should belong to this committee and when it is composed.

Maennig refers to the pre-selection of an applicant to Germany’s candidacy for Olympics 2012. At that time, Leipzig prevailed in a choice of DOSB members against Hamburg. “It was a democratic procedure, but with Leipzig it was chosen a beautiful but too small city, which was quickly done by the IOC. So the wrong city came out in a fair decision.”

India and Africa as a competition

Leipzig then competed in competition with cities like Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, new YorkMadrid, Paris and London – which ultimately received the contract. What is this time about Germany’s opportunities in international comparison?

Maennig believes that the discussions in the IOC are currently more about countries outside of Europe. “Especially around India: The largest people in the world, very strong, a market that is not yet played by the Olympic family. Then we now have an IOC President from Africa. She declared that she would like to take place in Africa.”

Many failed attempts

In addition, there is also the open question of when the IOC decides on the allocation of the games from 2036. Germany relies on the credo specified by IOC member Michael Mronz: “When Europe is asked, Germany must be ready.”

Since Munich in 1972, i.e. for almost 53 years, there has been no Olympic games in this country. Compared to other large industrialized nations, this is a long time. With whom Germany goes to the next Olympic race? The competition is open.