Berlin unveils Olympic bid with centenary of Nazi Games in sight

Straits Times

5 days ago

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner (far right) taking part in a press conference to announce Berlin's bid to host the Summer Olympics. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
BERLIN - Berlin on May 27 presented its proposal to hold the Summer Olympics, including a bid for the Games in 2036 that would fall exactly a century after the event was hosted by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.
'No matter where they take place, the 2036 Games will bring the Nazi Olympic Games from 1936 back into focus,' Berlin's Mayor Kai Wegner said at the presentation.
Hosting the 2036 Games would show 'a city which has changed in the past 100 years', Wegner said, during the event at the city's Olympic Stadium, built for the 1936 Games.
'No longer do we stand for exclusion and hate, but we instead are a colourful, diverse metropolis which is open to the world,' he said.
Berlin joins Munich, hosts of the 1972 Olympics, Hamburg and a joint bid by cities in the heavily populated Rhine-Ruhr region vying to host the festival of sport.
The hosts have until May 31 to submit their concepts to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), who will decide on a bid to be submitted to the International Olympic Committe (IOC) by autumn 2026.
Berlin said it was also open to hosting the Games in 2040 or 2044, as well as 2036, without indicating a preference.
The capital's proposal would see events held across the north and east of the country and at urban locations – mirroring the approach taken in Paris in 2024.
Berlin officials said the beach volleyball would take place next to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate in the centre of the city.
The skateboarding would be at the disused Tempelhof airport, already popular with casual skaters, while sailing events would be held on Germany's Baltic Sea coast in Kiel or Rostock.
Previous bids in Germany have been undermined by local opposition. Munich, in an attempt to illustrate public support for the bid, have scheduled a referendum for October 2025.
An initiative entitled 'NOlympia Berlin' has promised to push for a referendum on hosting the Games in the German capital.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles, with the Australian city of Brisbane hosting the Games four years later.
According to the principle of rotating hosts between continents, a return to Europe is likely for the 2036 Games. AFP
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