Munich Residents Back Olympic Bid, But Support Varies by District
Munich citizens overwhelmingly approved a referendum on Sunday to pursue a bid for the Summer Olympics, with approximately 66 percent voting in favor. However, support for the bid wasn’t uniform across the city, revealing notable differences in approval ratings between Munich’s districts.
Allach-Untermenzing led with the highest approval at 71.7 percent, followed closely by Maxvorstadt (70.9 percent) and altstadt-Lehel (70.5 percent). Feldmoching-Hasenbergl (68.8%), Milbertshofen-Am Hart (68.3%), and Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt (68.1%) also demonstrated strong support.
Districts in the upper-mid range included Trudering-Riem (67.8%),Schwabing-Freimann (69.5%), Pasing-Obermenzing (67.4%), Aubing-Lochhausen-Langwied (67.3%), and Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Fürstenried-Solln (67.2%).
Moosach (67.2%), Sendling-Westpark (65.9%),Hadern and Ramersdorf-Perlach (66.4% each), Au-Haidhausen (64.3%), and Obergiesing-Fasangarten (64.1%) showed more moderate, yet still majority, approval.
Schwabing-Freimann (65.3%), Berg am Laim (65.2%), Neuhausen-Nymphenburg (65.1%), and Schwabing-West (67.5%) recorded approval ratings below the city average, though Schwabing-West remained above it.
Laim (63.3%), Bogenhausen (62.6%), Schwanthalerhöhe (62.3%),and Sendling (61.7%) expressed the moast reservation, placing them at the bottom of the list.
Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) expressed satisfaction with the outcome,calling it a “clear signal from the people of munich” and noting the record 42 percent voter turnout. “we do politics for the majority here,” Reiter stated. He also emphasized that a majority voted in favor across all districts.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will decide in autumn 2026 which city will be Germany’s candidate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2036, 2040, or 2044 Games. Munich is competing with Berlin, Hamburg, and the rhine-Ruhr region.
