Leader of Hamburg Olympic Bid Promises Games in City

(ATR) The port city of Hamburg competes with Berlin to win the German nomination to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The city of 1.8 million is making its second recent bid for the Games after an early exit from the race for 2012. The German Olympic Committee is scheduled to decide in December whether to make a bid with either Berlin or Hamburg.

Hamburg Chamber of Commerce syndicus Reinhard Wolf, responsible for Olympic matters.has led this latest effort since May. Wolf believes Hamburg will provide a compact and efficient plan for the Games that also pays off for the city.

Wolf spoke this month with ATR reporter Heinz Peter Kreuzer about the bid during a visit to Hamburg. The original interview was conducted in German.

Around the Rings: Mr. Wolf, the bid for the 2012 Summer Games has failed. What is left from the former concept?

Reinhard Wolf: The basic idea from the 2012 bid remains. We want the Olympic Games to be held in the heart of the city. In Hamburg, we have a large harbor in the middle of the city. That must be relocated because of the lack of water depth. Thus, we have a unique opportunity, as there is a 100-hectare area in the heart of the city for an Olympic park or an Olympic center.

ATR: How would you describe the Olympic parks?

Wolf: It is hard for non-Hamburg residents to imagine that someone could walk or bike from the Olympic site to downtown or to our entertainment area, Reeperbahn. We will build the Olympic Village, the Olympic Stadium and the two other buildings that characterize the Olympic Games, the Olympic swimming hall and the Olympic Dome, on the large peninsula.

Despite this, plenty of green areas could be created. We will also build a large parking garage for bicycles. We expect 30,000 to 40,000 bicycles every day. Bikes are becoming prevalent in Hamburg because the city is so compact. And the summer in Hamburg is beautiful.

ATR: What is the Olympic legacy for the city?

Wolf: That's the advantage of this concept. The Hamburg politicians have talked about the so-called Leap across the Elbe for 30 or 40 years. The Leap across the Elbe is a jump to connect the north and south of Hamburg from the Old Town to the north across the Elbe. And that's what would happen with a new district on the "KleineGrasbrook."

In this respect, we would not rebuild this district after the Olympics, but supplement it with additional housing. In addition to the 3,000 homes provided by the Olympic village, we would built 1,000 to 1,500 new homes, so that 10,000 people could live in this district. We would provide commercial and office space, so that we get a living area, shaped by living and working area.

ATR: And what about the sports venues on the "KleineGrasbrook"?

Wolf: The Olympic buildings would fit harmoniously into the "KleineGrasbrook". The Olympic Stadium could be reduced from 75,000 to 25,000 seats. We would keep an athletics stadium, as it is the only one in northern Germany. The Olympic Dome would converted into a cruise terminal. And the aquatics venue would be used by the public and by high level athletes.

The city center holds 60,000 people, yet there are no sporting venues. An Olympic stadium and swimming hall would be the base of our concept. Sustainability is only a theoretical requirement, but we still included it in our concept.

ATR: How do you convince the sports officials that Hamburg is a better alternative to Berlin?

Wolf: We are a second city, such as Sydney. Our population is approaching two million inhabitants. We have all the infrastructural requirements, as well as features such as the great river Elbe and the harbor in the city. The whole city would be under the spell of the Olympics, and we have a public viewing area that can be reached from downtown by foot. We want to make it clear that the Olympic flame is lit in the whole city, not just in the Olympic Stadium. This offer will fit well with the IOC’s other reform efforts.

ATR: How do you address the key question of the support of the people?

Wolf: The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey in December 2013, three weeks after the Munich bid for the Winter Olympics failed, to see if the residents of Hamburg were willing to host a summer games. At the time, the result was 59 percent approval, 37 percent disapproval. Then, in April 2014, a second representative survey showed that 65 percent of residents approved of a summer games. A survey taken ahead of the announcement of the concepts in July showed that 73 percent of the residents of Hamburg approved of the Games.

ATR: Expected costs for the bid are 50 million Euro. The city government guarantees the money. How does the support of the economy look?

Wolf: I believe that we will not have to rely on public funding in full. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter of intent to the Senate. It is our intention to fund at least 50 percent of the application costs from the private sector. We financed half of the 2012 bid with the help of the private sector. We must not talk only about Hamburg's economy because this is a German bid on an international level. I imagine that even DAX companies will participate to position themselves internationally.

Interview by Heinz Peter Kreuzer