Hamburg Residents Cast Votes in Olympic Referendum

(ATR) Residents of Hamburg, Kiel are casting their votes on whether the two cities should organize the 2024 Games.

Guardar
Hamburg's landmark the St. Michaelis church (Michel) is seen on December 11, 2012 in Hamburg, northern Germany. Temperatures in the Hanseatic city were slightly below the freezing point.      AFP PHOTO / DANIEL REINHARDT     GERMANY OUT        (Photo credit should read DANIEL REINHARDT/AFP/Getty Images)
Hamburg's landmark the St. Michaelis church (Michel) is seen on December 11, 2012 in Hamburg, northern Germany. Temperatures in the Hanseatic city were slightly below the freezing point. AFP PHOTO / DANIEL REINHARDT GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read DANIEL REINHARDT/AFP/Getty Images)

(ATR)Residents of Hamburg and Kiel are casting their votes on whether the two cities should organize the Olympics in 2024.

The fate of the German city's Olympic bid will be decided at the hands of the people at the Nov. 29 referendum.Hamburg 2024 bid leader Nikolas Hill tells Around the Ringsthe city is already receiving some of the ballots by post.

In a statement released on Thursday, Hill added, "The dispatch of the ballot papers has ushered in the critical phase of the referendum. We are optimistic because we have repeatedly gained the impression that confidence in our application among the populace remains high."

The private company supporting the bid called Fire & Flames is including picture instructions on how to properly submit the ballot in the packet of information given to voters regarding the referendum. The packet includes details about the Hamburg bid as well as information from the opposition group to the bid No Olympia Hamburg.

"In the referendum, the citizens will also be deciding what image of our country we present to the world," Hill said.

"Their direct participation shows that Hamburg 2024 stands for the highest degree of transparency."

If the Hamburg bid can garner enough support by Nov. 29, the bid team consisting of 25 members will shift its focus towards delivering a comprehensive Games' vision to the IOC by the February 2016 deadline.

In order for the Hamburg Olympic bid to become a reality, 20 percent out of 1.3 million citizens must support the bid, the equivalent of 260,000 yes votes.

To commemorate the start of the referendum, Hamburg 2024 and German lighting artist Michael Batz announced plans to design a lighting installation with a beacon saying, "HH2024." The installation will be set up at Kleiner Grasbrook, the proposed site for the 2024 Olympic Village.

"How much more radiant will Hamburg appear in the peaceful glow of the Olympic flame," Batz said."I hope we all experience inspiring Olympic Games, with art as our guiding light."

This is only the second time the city has made a push to host the Olympics and the first time it has been selected by the DOSB as the German candidate. Hamburg was beaten by Leipzig in the competition to host the 2012 Games.

If selected by the IOC in 2017 over Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome, Hamburg would host the fifth Olympics in Germany and just the first since the 1972 Games in Munich.

Written byNicole Bennett

Home page and top photo credit: Getty Images

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.

Guardar

Últimas Noticias

Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore

IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing

Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts

IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power

North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022

Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022