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A two-thirds majority in Munich voted in favour of bidding to host the Summer Olympics in 2036, 2040 or 2044 during a referendum on Sunday. Final results revealed that 66.4 percent of voters in the Bavarian capital supported the proposal. “Munich clearly voted yes,” said city mayor Dieter Reiter in a statement on Sunday. Joerg Ammon, President of the Bavarian State Sports Association (BLSV), praised the “dream result”. With 42 percent of Munich’s 1.1 million eligible voters participating, the turnout was the highest in the city’s referendum history. The previous record was 37.5 percent, set in 2001 for a vote on building the Allianz Arena, home to Bayern Munich and host of the 2012 and 2025 Champions League finals. Munich last hosted the Olympics in 1972. The city is one of four German regions developing a bid and was the first to hold a vote to measure support. Berlin, Hamburg, and the Ruhr region are also developing bids, with referenda planned for 2026. The German candidate will be chosen by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) late in 2026 before submission to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Following Sunday’s vote, Bavarian state premier Markus Soeder stated, “we will now flood the DOSB with our arguments”. European cities’ willingness to host the Olympics has decreased in recent decades, largely due to cost concerns. An estimated 6.7 million euros was spent on Sunday’s referendum, with 1.8 million euros allocated to an information campaign. The previous seven German bids to host the Summer or Winter Olympics failed due to popular opposition. In 2013, Munich voters narrowly rejected a bid to host the 2022 Winter Games, with only 28.9 percent of eligible voters participating. Munich and Berlin are the German cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics. Los Angeles will host the next edition in 2028, followed by Brisbane in 2032. (With AFP Inputs)
