Germany Readies for 2024 Olympic Decision

(ATR) Candidate files from Berlin and Hamburg are prepared to help Germany pick a city to bid for the 2024 Games.

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SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 07:  Skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch of the Germany Olympic team carries her country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.  (Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 07: Skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch of the Germany Olympic team carries her country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)

(ATR) Candidate files from Berlin and Hamburg are prepared to help Germany pick the city to bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The files, 102 pages long, will be considered in three meetings this month that will lead to a decision between the two cities. The documents cover 10 areas to be evaluated by groups of experts in sport and society at large in Germany. The candidate files, in German, can be viewed at the DOSB website.

The first meeting March 15 will allow sports confederations from around the country to weigh in on the cities. The next day, several dozen experts from outside of sport, such as business, labor and nongovernmental organizations will consider the information on Berlin and Hamburg.

The four-hour meeting will be followed by a meeting of the DOSB board of directors, which will make a choice.

Then, on March 21, one more meeting will be held to gather the opinions of experts in sport, as well as members of the DOSB, before a decision is ratified. All the meetings are scheduled to take place in Frankfurt.

A public opinion survey by TV station and newspaper shows that there is slightly more support nationally for Berlin than Hamburg, 34 percent to 30 percent.

The survey also shows that 69 percent of Germans are in favor of hosting the Olympic Games in 2024, just 20 percent opposed. Media chief Christian Klaue tells Around the Rings that the DOSB has conducted its own survey of public opinion in the two cities, which has yet to be released. He says that information will also be used along

with the criteria in the files to make a decision.

"There would be a referendum in either city, so we want to make sure public opinion is strong in the city we select," says Klaue.

This week, leaders of the DOSB visited IOC headquarters in Switzerland and spent five hours with IOC staff, reviewing the German plans with the reforms to the bidding and staging of the Olympic Games produced by Olympic Agenda 2020.

A bid from Germany will be the third official declaration for the 2024 campaign. Already in the early stages of the race are Rome and Boston. The IOC opens the race for 2024 in September with the election set for 2017.

Written by EdHula

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