(ATR) Politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia consider a bid for the 2028 Olympics. For now, the German Olympic Sports Federation says it’s too early to support any bid plans.
"We continue to be interested in the idea of bringing the Olympic Games to Germany," DOSB president Alfons Hoermann said on Friday.
"But the recent past has also taught us that the majority of people are needed to back a bid."
Hamburg dropped out of the race for the 2024 Olympics after an unsuccessful referendum in 2015. Plans to bring the 2022 Winter Games to Munich ended in similar fashion in 2014.
The DOSB president will need to be convinced about a new bid.
"We see the initiative in NRW, but also in other cities after the Rio Games. While it is in principle pleasing to us, we are not going to deal with this quickly, neither in North Rhine-Westphalia or somewhere else," said Hoermann.
Christian Democratic Union parliamentarianshave submitted a request to welcome initiatives for North Rhine-Westphalia to host the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in 2028. The motion will be discussed in upcoming parliamentary sessions.
While a CDU initiative, all parties in the state parliament are said to support a possible bid of Duesseldorf, Cologne and the Ruhr region.
State premier Hannelore Kraft, leader of the SPD, said that if the IOC "is willing to turn away from gigantism and allow modest games, then I could well imagine a NRW application".
Duesseldorf applied together with the Ruhr area for the German bid for the 2012 Olympics. But the DOSB selected Leipzig as its nominee for the race which was won by London.
The IOC will choose a host for the 2024 Olympics in September 2017. With three European cities in the race, Budapest, Paris and Rome, along with Los Angeles, the outcome will influence the lineup of candidates for 2028. Under the current IOC timetable, that contest will be decided in 2021.
Reported in Germany by Heinz Peter Kreuzer.
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