Germany’s Olympic hopes received a major boost last month when the government threw its support behind hosting the event — but the memory of the 1936 games looms large.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation is considering bidding for the 2036 Olympics — a full century to the year since the Berlin games infamously hosted by the Nazis.
Supporters say it would give the country an opportunity to show how far its democracy has come, but others are worried that the grim anniversary could provide a distraction from the main event.
“I think what would happen is that everybody would just talk about that year,” said Klara Schedlich, a member of Berlin’s state parliament and spokesperson for sports policy for the Greens.
“We cannot tell now what Germany will look like in 2036 … We really don’t know how democratic and nice Germany will be that year.”
Alternative options are now being considered. Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was in Paris last month to sign a declaration for a bid for the games, but while the country’s Olympic Sports Confederation is toying with the idea of hosting the 2036 edition, the government says it prefers 2040 — the 50th anniversary of German reunification after the Cold War.
It’s been announced that the government will set aside around €7 million to support the bid between 2024 and 2027. Nonetheless, Germany will inevitably face stiff competition from European neighbours regardless of which year it chooses.
Among those is London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has set his eye on the city hosting the 2040 games. Hungary is also considering a bid for 2036.
The shadow of the Third Reich
As Germany tries to chart a path forward for its Olympic hosting hopes, the government will be keeping a careful eye on upcoming talks between the IOC and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior and Community told Euronews.
They would not say whether the government would support a bid for the 2036 Olympics.
In the meantime, politicians from across the political divide have been weighing in. The leading opposition party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), is in favour of hosting the games and agrees that the bid should be for the 2040 Olympics.
Stephan Mayer, a CDU MP who is also a member of the parliamentary sports committee, said he was concerned that groups outside Germany would use the connection to the 100th anniversary of the Nazi Olympics to try to harm the bid.
He said that he also fears the public wouldn’t rally behind the idea.
“I think [convincing the public] is the most important task, and to be honest I don’t perceive this movement among the German public today at least,” he said.
“Certainly it still can be created in the upcoming future but there’s a long way to go.”
Others say any money earmarked for the Olympics should instead be spent on sports infrastructure in need of repair.
“It would cost us €240 million to renovate all of the sports infrastructure in Berlin,” Schedlich said. “When we host the Olympic Games, the estimated sum for just the security measurements would be €2 billion, so that is really a big difference, and we should first do our own homework before hosting a big event.”
The DOSB said it will officially decide which year to bid for in 2025.
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