Berlin agrees to bid to host Olympics on or after the 100th anniversary of the 1936 Nazi Games
BERLIN, Germany (AP) — Berlin’s state parliament has given the green light to the city’s bid to host the Olympics again on or after the 100th anniversary of the Nazi-hosted 1936 games.
“Our offer is a real promise for future generations,” Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said during the 90-minute debate before Thursday’s vote. “We want positive development for Berlin.”
Wegner’s CDU party received support from rival SPD members and the far-right AfD for plans for the Berlin Olympic and Paralympic Games, which he first unveiled last May at the same stadium where Jesse Owens competed against Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Games.
The Berlin state government this month approved the concept for an offer that largely relies on existing sports facilities and includes the use of urban landmarks such as the city park at the former Tempelhof Airport.
It estimated costs at 4.82 billion euros ($5.6 billion), with revenues forecast at 5.24 billion euros, giving a net profit of around 420 million euros, with a quarter of that going to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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“If we tell the world a summer fairy tale, then that is an opportunity for the world,” said Wegner.
USA’s Jesse Owens (center) salutes as he receives his gold medal in the long jump, along with German silver medalist Luz Long, who performs a Hitler salute (right), and bronze medalist Naoto Tajima of Japan during the eleventh Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, August 11, 1936. (AP Photo)
The plans were opposed by politicians from the Left Party and the Greens, who pointed out the financial risks of hosting the Olympics and criticized “empty promises” and “castles in the air,” the DPA news agency reported.
Tobias Schulze of the Left Party said the last three Olympics had cost more than twice as much as originally planned, and he pointed out that many of the planned venues needed to be renovated.
In contrast to the organizers of three other applications from Germany, the organizers of the application decided not to hold a referendum.
The applications from Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia were accepted in referendums, and voters in Hamburg will vote on the city’s application on May 31st.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner stands in front of the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital on September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
If Hamburg’s application prevails, one of the four candidates will be selected by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) for submission to the IOC on September 26th.
“On behalf of the entire German sports community, I congratulate Berlin on this decision, which was approved by a large majority,” said DOSB President Thomas Weikert. “The application has already attracted a lot of attention and sparked new enthusiasm for the sport in the capital.”
Germany wants to host the games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has described it as “historically problematic” that the country is hosting the Olympic Games on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Nazi-era games.
Many Berliners also refuse to hold the Olympics at all, regardless of whether they could take place on the 100th anniversary of the games already organized by the Nazis. An initiative called “NOlympia Berlin” is collecting signatures to force a referendum.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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