Olympics 2036 | Olympia: Berlin complains, Munich and Rhine-Ruhr want victory

Icon since 1972: Munich advertises with its Olympic Stadium Photo: imago images/Franz Feiner On Thursday morning we were once again happy that the Berliners had chosen the change. Anyone who watched the outgoing Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and his sports senator Iris Spranger (SPD) shed their crocodile tears was gripped by regular waves of shame. Berlin is withdrawing its bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. On the podium, the two provincial politicians once again explained how good Berlin's application had been and how much the DOSB review committee's evaluation matrix should be questioned, which ranked Munich and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr much better. And how immensely the “international appeal” in the vote on Saturday in Baden-Baden helped Berlin’s pursuit of the Olympic Games.

Radiance, radiance, radiance - if only it hadn't been for Elif Eralp. After the cancellation of the Olympics, the sports associations withheld their support, explained Wegner with an embarrassed expression. The victorious left-wing top candidate said immediately after the election that the issue of the Olympics was over. “To be honest, I’m also sad that the children of this city have been deprived of a real opportunity,” sighed Wegner on Thursday. Eralp has not yet been elected as governor. She is already in office as a scapegoat.

Elif Eralp has not yet been elected as governor. She is already in office as a scapegoat.

The criticism of the testing procedure cannot be completely brushed aside. When it comes to the “stability” criterion, the Berlin parliamentary resolution in favor of the Olympics only counted by a factor of 0.5 compared to the referendums of the competition, in which around two thirds of those who voted said yes to the Olympics. Berlin therefore received 50 points in this criterion, Munich 100 and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr 98.99. The Senate or House of Representatives in Berlin cannot simply decide to let the population vote on the Olympic bid. The Berlin constitution does not provide for this instrument. This disadvantage for Berlin was inherent in the evaluation method - but Eralp did not invent it.

On Saturday there are now only two applications left in the race for the German applicant ticket for the games in ten, 14 or 18 years. One, from Munich, has a legendary tent roof from 1972. The other, from the Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr region, wants to flood the Schalke Arena with temporary pools for swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.

The application from North Rhine-Westphalia has the potential to be a spectacle: If the DOSB decides in favor of it and the International Olympic Committee follows the idea, up to 60,000 people could take part in the swimming competitions. The applicants are planning to have 70,000 spectators in the Westfalenstadion for the football final in Dortmund, and up to 50,000 for the handball, basketball and volleyball finals in the Düsseldorf Arena. Many of the large Olympic sports venues are already in place. The application from 15 North Rhine-Westphalian municipalities includes around 40 competition venues and relies on existing or temporary facilities.

Perhaps the biggest drawback: the athletics stadium is still missing. A temporary arena for 50,000 people is to be built in the north of Cologne, connected to the Olympic and Paralympic Village. Apartments will later be built there – that’s the plan.

However, Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr has more to offer than sports facilities and a potential of 17.6 million tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Paris 2024: 12.8 million). Cologne's mayor Torsten Burmester (SPD) was chairman of the DOSB board from 2022 to 2024. Now he is campaigning together with North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) for games for which his former association selects the German applicant. Burmester hardly needs an introduction there.

For Michael Mronz, the roles are even more closely intertwined: the initiator of the former Rhine-Ruhr Initiative sits on the DOSB executive board as an IOC member and is allowed to vote on Saturday. At the same time he is managing director of Aachener Reitturnier GmbH; According to the NRW concept, the Olympic equestrian competitions are to take place in Aachen. Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr has the much-vaunted short distances - between applicants, sports officials and business people.

Munich, on the other hand, can boast an Olympic stadium. The iconic tent roof from 1972 has survived half a century and can still serve as an argument for an application: in 2022 there were acclaimed European Athletics Championships in the stadium, and the World Championships will follow in 2031. Competitions could be held in around half of the sports in the surrounding Olympic Park. According to the applicants, 90 percent of the competition venues are within a radius of less than 30 kilometers from the Olympic Village.

The city is confident of victory, it rarely sells itself short anyway: an “Olympic Wiesn” is planned for the Theresienwiese. After all, the world should not only come together, but also know to whom it owes this beautiful celebration - the Free State, of course. Being there is everything: CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder even invited Munich's Green Mayor Dominik Krause as a guest in the cabinet for the Olympics. At the beginning of September they both confirmed their close partnership. If his application is successful, Krause would like to ride the rollercoaster with Söder on the Oktoberfest.

Black and green for sport should convince the DOSB. However, this Olympics cannot be contested entirely from the existing ones. A new Olympic Village is to be built in Munich's northeast and will later be used as a residential area with 3,500 to 5,000 apartments. To achieve this, the subway must be extended and the S-Bahn expanded. The city urgently needs affordable housing and better transport connections. Whether the Olympics are needed for this?

The DOSB assessment certifies that Munich has better travel times and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr has greater “event potential”. Overall, there are 87.03 points for Munich and 85.02 for the competition from the west. Both applications landed in the “very good” range of results; Berlin, with its 74.64 points, was considered “good”.

However, if you get to the bottom of the decimal places, you will come across astonishing weightings. The professional assessment of the competition venues by the sports associations contributed just six percent to the overall result.

The DOSB and the participating sports associations awarded the points. The accompanying evaluation commission should check whether the agreed criteria were adhered to and the results of the awarding of points were comprehensible. Your chairman: DOSB President Thomas Weikert. The president of the association that organized the procedure also chaired the committee that confirmed that the procedure was proceeding properly.

The DOSB election procedure on Saturday also has its weaknesses. For example, the Bobsleigh and Sled Association has three votes, while the German Disabled Sports Association has none. The application is about the Summer Games including the Paralympics.

According to paragraph 16 of the statutes, of the 103 DOSB member organizations, only the 42 leading Olympic associations are allowed to vote, each with three votes, which are to be awarded as a block. Including the executive committee and personal members, there are 144 votes. The remaining 61 organizations, including all state sports associations, are allowed to send delegates but are not allowed to vote. The limited say follows from the IOC special rules for the DOSB as the National Olympic Committee.

Even in the evaluation commission, the representatives of the disabled sports association, state sports associations and athletes' commission had no voting rights. On Saturday, at least the Paralympians Anna Schaffelhuber and Manuela Schmermund can vote as personal members. The general meeting begins on Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden. More than half of the votes cast are required. The German applicant will be announced in a special ARD broadcast from 1:45 p.m.

In Berlin, it remains to be clarified what will happen to the promised investments in halls, pools and school sports. Wegner declared it necessary again on Thursday and demanded its implementation by a possible successor government. Those who allegedly spoiled the Olympics for him should now be held accountable for his big promises.

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