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Hamburg to bid for 2014 summer Olympics

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Germany's Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will recommend Hamburg for the 2024 Olympic bidding process, the DOSB announced at an official press conference in Frankfurt on Monday.

The DOSB decided in favor of Hamburg and against Berlin as Germany's candidate city for the bidding process. The decision was made following a meeting at the DOSB's ruling bureau in Frankfurt.

"This is not a decision against one of the two cities but Hamburg presented a fascinating and compact Olympic concept. Hamburg has the chance to become an Olympic center in the north of Germany," DOSB president Alfons Hoermann stated.

According to Hoermann "one of the things that played a role" were a representative survey in which, 64 percent of Hamburg residents were in favor of hosting the Olympics. By contrast, a poll for Berlin showed only an approval of 55 percent. However, besides these surveys, the voting of the umbrella organizations on Sunday played a part in the election of Hamburg as Germany's candidate.

"Of the 33 Olympic umbrella organizations that took part in the vote, eighteen voted for Hamburg, eleven for Berlin and four for both cities," Hoermann said.

On March 21 the DOSB will vote with its members on the recommendation. Nevertheless, before the DOSB can submit the official bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) they will have to hold a referendum in Hamburg to ensure that at least 50 percent of the population is behind the bid.

The cities that bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics have to submit their official candidacy until 15th September. The IOC will announce the host city in the summer of 2017. Endite