Munich has been selected as Germany’s candidate city to bid for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Olympics, the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) voted Saturday, as the country launched its latest effort to bring the world’s biggest multisport event back for the first time since 1972.
Munich, which hosted the last Summer Olympics in Germany 54 years ago, was initially one of three cities in contention alongside Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr and Berlin. The capital withdrew its bid two days before Saturday’s vote following local elections last week.
“The winner is Munich,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced at the DOSB general assembly after receiving the envelope containing the winning bid.
Earlier, Steinmeier said Germany would have a strong chance of securing the Games if the country presented a united bid.
“If we go to the starting line as Team Germany, then we have a good chance to become Olympic hosts,” he said.
Munich’s bid includes the use of the Olympic Park built for the 1972 Games and has received strong support from residents.
It will face stiff competition, especially for 2036, with the IOC saying more than 10 cities or countries had expressed interest, including Indonesia, India, South Africa, Santiago, Chile, Doha, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympics, while Brisbane, Australia, will stage the 2032 edition.
There is no date for a decision by the International Olympic Committee, which has changed its bidding rules in recent years. Several stages of dialogue with interested parties result in one preferred candidate being put to a vote.
The IOC usually awards the Games about seven years in advance.
Germany last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1972 in the Bavarian capital.
The Games were marred by the hostage-taking of members of the Israeli Olympic team by the Black September group.
Eleven Israelis, a German police officer and five of the Black September group gunmen were killed after a standoff at the Olympic Village and the nearby Fürstenfeldbruck airfield.
Previous efforts by Germany to land the Summer or Winter Games have mostly failed at the first hurdle, with local referendums opposing plans over their size and cost.
That was the case with Hamburg, which was planning a bid for the 2024 Olympics. Munich also unsuccessfully bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, finishing second behind Pyeongchang, South Korea.
