Olympic bid: Spoilt for choice for nine consultants

It was not easy to form the review committee for the selection of the sailing venue alongside Olympic candidate Hamburg. Initial ideas were rejected, members who had already been confirmed withdrew due to possible bias, and new names were discussed. Now, however, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), the City of Hamburg and the German Sailing Association (DSV) have found what they consider to be a good line-up for the commission.

Nine instead of - as originally planned - six commission members are to examine the sailing area applicants Kiel, Rostock-Warnemünde and Lübeck-Travemünde and then draw up a recommendation. The committee has equal representation: Three members are delegated by the DOSB, three by the City of Hamburg and three by the DSV.

In addition to DOSB Executive Board member Bernhard Schwank, who will chair the commission, the German Olympic Sports Confederation will delegate Christian Sachs, Head of the DOSB Capital City Office, and Hans Heinrich, the competitive sports officer responsible for water sports, to the commission. The City of Hamburg is represented by Michael Neumann, Senator of the Interior, Michael Beckereit, Chairman of the Hamburg Future Commission, and former Olympic sailor and entrepreneur Kathrin Adlkofer. The DSV is represented by sports director Nadine Stegenwalner from Hamburg, youth chairman Timo Hass from Munich and Jürgen Jentsch (president of the International Tornado Class Association) from Füssen.

The Commission's first stop will be Rostock-Warnemünde on 9 April. This will be followed by on-site appointments in Lübeck-Travemünde and Kiel on 10 April. The times for these inspection dates have not yet been finalised. However, the DOSB emphasised in a statement that the appointments will be "working meetings without media coverage". Statements by the commission members after the meetings are also not planned, only photo opportunities before the start of the respective meetings are possible.

Following the inspections and discussions with the representatives of the three bidders, the commission will deliberate and make a recommendation. A decision on the future venue alongside Olympic bidder Hamburg is expected by the end of April at the latest. According to the DOSB press release, the DSV vote will be given great weight. The press release states that the commission will "make a technical recommendation based on the advice of the DSV".