We’ve heard rumors that Nairobi, Paris, Toronto, Doha, Dubai, and just about every relatively large American city including Tulsa and Milwaukee is considering tossing in their bids for some upcoming Olympic Games. Well, you can now throw Berlin and Hamburg down on the list, too.
Germany, which last hosted the 1972 Games that were marred by the tragedy of the Munich Massacre, is looking at bids for 2022 and 2024. Its Olympic committee will need to decide which year and which city is mostly likely to win after missing out in 2000 (Berlin), 2012 (Leipzig), and 2018 (Munich).
“Conditions for good chances would be wide support from the local population,” Thomas Bach, head of Germany’s Olympic committee and an IOC VP, told Reuters. “The second condition is that you have bi-partisan support, coupled with the appropriate financial pledges for the bid itself and for the Games.”
Madrid, one of three cities still in the running for the 2020 Games, would hamper Germany’s chances if it won its bid, since the IOC would be unlikely to go with European cities in back-to-back Olympics, especially given the growing international options (see: Milwaukee).
Tokyo and Istanbul are the other cities vying for the 2020 bid, which will be voted on next September.
