The initiative for the Rhine-Ruhr region to apply for the Olympic Games 2032 is to be continued – even if the chances of success are minimal. But a possible application for 2036 is now also in the room. The IOC was open to this.
NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) announced after a consultation with the mayors of the affected municipalities and the Rhein-Ruhr-City initiative that, despite the IOC push for the Australian city of Brisbane, not to give up in 2032.
In addition, the CDU boss attacked the German Olympic Sports Confederation sharply. The DOSB did not see itself in a position to enter into dialogue with the IOC. The DOSB initially did not want to comment on Laschet’s words.
Laschet criticizes the IOC
Laschet also reacted with incomprehension to the decision of the executive branch of the International Olympic Committee, which on Wednesday declared Brisbane the preferred candidate for hosting the summer games in eleven years. “No question, the decision of the IOC surprised and also made us. I was told that Brisbane was a good candidate for the IOC in uncertain times. I do not share this view,” said Laschet.
Should the application for 2032 fail as expected, a candidacy for the games four years later would also come into consideration for Rhein-Ruhr. “We would prepare for games in the 30s, that can be ’32, that can also be 2036,” said the CDU boss.
Olympia ’36 in Germany?
Laschet does not see staging 100 years after the Berlin Games under the Nazi regime as an obstacle: “The message these Games have is also a content one. The world is a different 100 years later than the 1936 Games. To show this, to make this visible, would fit any game in the 1930s. “
IOC Director Christophe Dubi reacted positively to the move and stressed that the talks would be continued in any case. The project was “very strong,” said Dubi of the Funke media group. The desire for a German application for 2036 is absolutely welcomed from the IOC’s point of view.
14 cities from NRW
Aachen, Bochum, Bonn, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Krefeld, Leverkusen, Mönchengladbach, Oberhausen and Recklinghausen are involved in the Rhine-Ruhr project. The sailing competitions would be held in Kiel.
The prerequisite for an application from the Rhine-Ruhr region would first be approval in a public survey. Laschet left it open whether the date for this should be in September parallel to the federal election. This has been the goal so far. Another possible date is the NRW state election in May 2022.
This message was broadcast on February 26th, 2021 on Deutschlandfunk.
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