Following the withdrawal of Hamburg and Berlin, it ultimately came down to a head-to-head contest: Munich and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr battled it out right to the end for the votes of the DOSB’s eligible voters. At the decision this Saturday in Baden-Baden The delegations from Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia were led by the two Minister-Presidents, Markus Söder and Hendrik Wüst. Like the other guests and television viewers, they awaited the vote with bated breath.
Germany’s bid for the Olympics: Munich enters the international race
Sports stars such as Boris Becker, Michael Groß, Isabell Werth, Kristina Vogel and many more were present in the main hall of the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden when, at 2.43 pm on Saturday afternoon, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, flanked by DOSB chief Thomas Weikert, officially announced the winner: Munich! The Bavarian candidate will now be put forward to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the next stage of the process.
As there were only two bid proposals left to choose from, the decision was made after just one round of voting that morning: the delegates with voting rights at the extraordinary DOSB General Assembly elected Munich as the national candidate on the international stage with 64.91 per cent of the vote. The Bavarian bid received 91 votes, whilst Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr received 50 votes.
The 42 Olympic federations, each with three votes, as well as the ten members of the DOSB Executive Board and eight ‘personal members’, each with one vote, were eligible to vote. Of these, Elena Gilles, Leon Goretzka and Anna Schaffelhuber were unable to attend for personal reasons. This meant that a total of 141 votes were up for allocation. Click here for the DOSB’s press release on the election.
One Olympic bid, one country: Federal President hails it as a “huge opportunity”
Following the announcement, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “The bid is a huge opportunity for the whole country. Let us break down barriers, harness this momentum to move our country forward and reaffirm who we are and what we want to remain. Let us set our country in motion to strengthen everything that unites us. Let us make this bid our shared endeavour!”
"If we compete as Team Germany, we have an excellent chance of being chosen as hosts." Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Munich’s Lord Mayor, Dominik Krause, was overjoyed and said: “Our joy knows no bounds right now.” Bavaria’s Minister-President, Markus Söder, remarked: “This is a historic moment. And we want to do everything we can to ensure that, in the end, we present ourselves collectively as Germany – as a partner to the North, the South, the East and the West – as one country.”
Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, has secured Munich as its sailing partner in the north. In the home waters of Kiel Week, cheers erupted everywhere upon the announcement of Munich’s election victory. Kiel’s Lord Mayor, Samet Yilmaz, said: “A dream has come true.” Even before the election victory, six specialist associations under the umbrella of the DSV had come out in favour of Kiel as an Olympic candidate.
“Sailing City” Kiel is competing with Munich to host the Games in Germany
Following the decision, Jan-Dirk Tenge of the Schleswig-Holstein Sailing Association (SVSH) said: “It was a perfect team effort between the City of Kiel, the state government and the relevant Ministry of Sport, the State Sports Association and the Schleswig-Holstein Sailing Association. Everyone in our team played to their strengths as best they could, thereby ensuring our bid crossed the finish line.”
“It’s almost reminiscent of the 2014 World Cup, which proved that a team effort can win the title. Munich and Kiel are not just a team that has grown together over time, but – in the best sense of the word – a pan-German bid.” Jan-Dirk Tenge
Members, Olympic sailors and guests had gathered at the Kiel Yacht Club to watch the ARD live broadcast of the decision in Baden-Baden together. Some of the young athletes can now even dream of competing in the Olympics themselves at a future Games in their home country, even though the IOC will not decide on the award of the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympic Games until 2029, and there are as yet no precise timetables for the bid processes for the 2040 and 2044 Games.
What the sailors in Kiel say
Anna Barth, the SailGP strategist from Hamburg, said at the Kiel Yacht Club: “We’ve seen it at the SailGP in Sassnitz. The stands shake when we sail in front of our home fans. I believe we can ignite a similar passion in Kiel. You could already see it at the start of the Ocean Race Europe – just look at how many people were watching from the promenade. It’s definitely going to be massive.”
"I believe Kiel is exactly the right city to take on this task." Ann Barth
Anna Barth went on to say: “We’re still reaping the benefits of that today (Editor’s note: referring to Kiel hosting the 1972 Olympic sailing regatta). We train every day at the Olympic City Centre, in the Olympic Harbour in Schilksee. We still benefit today from the sports facilities that were built back then. But it’s now about time that something was added to them – that perhaps something new is built – so that future generations can continue to make use of them.”
“We’re absolutely delighted that Kiel has been chosen – it’s a home game for us! We hope we’ll still be able to compete there.” Anna Barth
At the Kiel Yacht Club, 49er sailor Frederik Schwall also spoke about his Olympic prospects. The son of Olympic bronze medallist René Schwall – who, together with Roland Gäbler, finished third in the Tornado class at the 2000 Sydney Games – said: “The Olympics represent our dream and our goal. That is what drives us every day to keep working towards it. The thought of possibly even being able to experience it all on home soil certainly makes it all the more special.”
An emotional day in Kiel: “The city really loves sailing!”
Emma Kohlhoff, 49erFX bowman for Anna Barth and sister of Paul Kohlhoff, who took bronze in the Nacra17 at the 2021 Olympics, said: “I’ve been following the campaign and keeping my fingers crossed the whole time. Even Paul said: ‘If it were to come to Kiel, it might be worth considering taking part again, because it’s such a fantastic experience.’”
Just how convinced are the athletes of Kiel? Emma Kohlhoff said: “I’m very convinced! Kiel Week is held here every year. That also shows that Kiel is capable of staging a successful event. It’s a good venue internationally, too.”
49erFX bowwoman Freya Feilcke, who also witnessed the nail-biting election result at the Kiel Yacht Club, said: “I thought it was a brilliant atmosphere, following it all here with the whole ‘Jo campaign’ and the team. It was incredibly emotional; everyone was cheering. We’re all absolutely delighted now. I was convinced right from the start that Kiel is the best sailing venue for Olympic sailing competitions in Germany. Kiel is our sailing base, where we’ve been training for years. The city loves sailing too, so it was definitely the right decision.”
Kiel has a chance to qualify for the Olympics for the third time
For Rostock-Warnemünde, the sailing partner of the unsuccessful Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr bid, this Saturday’s vote has, for the time being, dashed the dream of hosting Olympic sailing in its home waters. Should the Olympic Games actually be awarded to Germany in the coming years, sailing would be held on the fjord for the third time, following 1936 and 1972.
REPLAY! If you’d like to watch the final, which was broadcast live by ARD, again, You can find it here.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter