German 2036 Olympic Bid Said Unthinkable

(ATR) Plans for a bid from Germany for the 2036 Olympics, the Centennial of the 1936 Games in Berlin, are "unthinkable", says Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

Seehofer, whose portfolio includes sport, says he goes along with a proposal from the Rhein and Ruhr region of the country for a 2032 Olympic bid.

But if that bid fails to progress, Seehofer says a second attempt to bid for 2036 would create "unspeakable international debate".

"How would that be seen in the world? The Germans are celebrating a centennial anniversary related to the Nazi Olympics? That cannot be," said the conservative politician in an interview with newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The newspaper reports that German NOC President Alfons Hörmann also shares Seehofer’s lack of support for German bid for 2036. He tells FAZ that such a bid would fail to generate enthusiasm either domestically or internationally.

With Paris set for the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles for 2028, the next opening for a Summer Olympics is 2032.

Along with the promoters of the Rhein-Ruhr region in Germany, other potential bidders for 2032 include Jakarta, Brisbane and New Delhi.

Under current IOC timetables, the 2032 host city would be chosen in 2025. But the IOC is getting ready to rewrite the process of bidding for the Olympics to add more flexibility to the process. That may involve changes to when the city is selected as well as other steps to custom fit in Olympics to a host city.

After the 1972 Munich Olympics, Germany has been unsuccessful with a series of bids for summer and winter Games. Berlin tried for 2000, Leipzig failed for 2012. Munich attempted winter Olympic bids for 2018 and 2022. Hamburg launched a bid for 2024 that was dropped over low levels of public support.

The Rhein-Ruhr proposal has been in development for several years. It proposes spreading the Olympics across 14 cities in the Western region of Germany. Leaders of the bid met with German compatriot and IOC President Thomas Bach in April to present their ideas for the Olympics.

Reported by Ed Hula.