Berlin Olympic bid wins Parliament's support

The German capital took a decisive step Thursday towards hosting the Summer Games of 2036, 2040 or 2044, after the house of representatives backed a project now cleared to enter the national selection process alongside Munich, Hamburg and Rhine-Ruhr.

The political agreement passed with the votes of the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party, the two parties in the governing coalition, and with additional support from Alternative for Germany, while The Greens and The Left voted against. The vote, held by a show of hands after a debate lasting around 90 minutes, authorises the senate to submit the Berlin+ concept to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) as part of an internal process in which Munich, Hamburg and the Rhine-Ruhr region are also competing.

The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, defended the proposal as an opportunity for urban transformation and international projection for a city that aims to organise the Games exactly a century after 1936 or at one of the two subsequent editions. "Our bid is a genuine promise for the future for coming generations. We want positive development for Berlin," he said during the session. Wegner had already presented his plans in May 2025 in the same stadium where American sprinter Jesse Owens defied dictator Adolf Hitler during the Games organised by the Nazi regime.

The historical dimension runs through the entire project, with the possibility of returning to the scene of 1936 drawing criticism over the symbolic risk of an unintended commemoration. The historian Oliver Hilmes had already warned in comments to the newspaper Tagesspiegel that "it creates the odd impression of a centenary celebration", and called for special contextualisation if the city ultimately advances in the international race.

The Berlin+ concept approved by the senate on 5 May proposes Games built almost entirely around existing facilities. According to the DOSB and Berlin's own government, 97% of the required venues are already available. The plan groups seven sports in Olympiapark, provides for athletics at the Olympiastadion and envisages covering, expanding and modernising the Olympiaschwimmstadion to host swimming. It also includes venues such as the Uber Arena for handball and judo, the Max-Schmeling-Halle for volleyball, the Velodrom for track cycling, the Alte Försterei for rugby and the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen for fencing and shooting.

The proposal also seeks to set itself apart through an urban staging of the Games. The DOSB says there would be events in front of the Brandenburg Gate, urban sports at Tempelhofer Feld, a marathon through historic sites and a triathlon beside the East Side Gallery. The Host City Concept, developed by Kulturprojekte Berlin under the direction of Moritz van Dülmen, also imagines an "Olympic Route" connecting the Olympiastadion with the city centre and Tempelhof, with temporary spaces for culture, movement, public encounters and medal celebrations. Van Dülmen himself argued that "the Host City Concept brings the Olympics together with Berlin!".

Berlin+ also includes associated venues outside the city. Saxony would provide facilities in Leipzig for events such as equestrian sport and canoe slalom, Brandenburg would host canoe and golf competitions, and Rostock-Warnemünde, on the Baltic coast, appears as the planned sailing venue. Near Olympiapark, an Olympic and Paralympic Village is also projected at the western gateway to the city, between Westkreuz and Grunewald, on around 45 hectares that would later be turned into a new neighbourhood with at least 2,500 affordable homes, green areas and sports spaces.

The estimated operating cost stands at €4.82 billion, against projected revenue of €5.24bn, which would leave an approximate surplus of €420 million, a quarter of which would have to be transferred to the International Olympic Committee. The DOSB adds that Berlin foresees complementary investment of €1.6bn in sports facilities and transport, as well as €440m to promote physical activity and children's and youth sport, with measures such as all-day schools, swimming courses, talent identification and movement spaces in parks.

The opposition challenged precisely that arithmetic and the city's real capacity to turn the Games into legacy. Tobias Schulze, from The Left, argued that the last three Olympic editions cost more than twice as much as planned and pointed to the poor condition of many local facilities. "Many are in need of renovation, but only 80 are to be refurbished," he said, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, referring to the 4,450 sports facilities spread across 1,200 sites. Schulze was even more blunt when he said that "Berlin cannot afford the Olympic Games", while Werner Graf, from The Greens, summed up his rejection by saying that "Berlin is falling apart."

The vote does not remove all political risks. Unlike Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region, where favourable referendums have already been held, and Hamburg, which will vote on 31 May, Berlin will not hold its own consultation because it does not have the legal basis to convene one in this process. The parliamentary agreement therefore replaces the referendum and counts in the national evaluation matrix. Even so, the NOlympia Berlin movement is collecting signatures to force a popular vote. Kaweh Niroomand, the state's Olympic commissioner, admitted to the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost that there is "a residual political risk", although he believes the initiative may reach the initial 20,000 signatures, but not the 175,000 required in the second phase.

The calendar now leaves two key dates. The deadline for submitting concepts to the DOSB expires on 4 June, and on 26 September an extraordinary assembly will choose the German bid to be presented to the IOC. Thomas Weikert, president of the DOSB, has already welcomed the parliamentary result, saying that "on behalf of all of German sport, I congratulate Berlin on this decision, which was carried by a large majority."