Germany selects Munich for Olympics bid; would be first in country since disastrous 1972 Games

BERLIN — Munich was on Saturday selected ahead of the Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr region by the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) as part of a bid to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games.

The decision was announced by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the south-western spa town of Baden-Baden. Launched as a race between four candidates, the DOSB was given a choice between two after Berlin withdrew on Thursday and after Hamburg pulled out in May.

If Munich is chosen by the International Olympic Committee, the games would mark the first in Germany since the 1972 Summer Games, which were marred by a Palestinian terror attack on the Israeli delegation in the Olympic Village that resulted in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes.

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Since then, Germany has launched seven unsuccessful bids to host. Before 1972, Germany last hosted the Games in 1936, holding both the summer and winter events under Nazi leadership in Berlin and the southern resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, respectively. If the city were to host in 2036, it would mark the centennial of those Games.

“We’re thinking about all of Germany,” Bavarian state premier Markus Soeder said on stage after the announcement of Munich’s successful bid.

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“The Cologne bid made things really tough for us and pretty tense until the end,” he said. “I want that we work jointly to bring the games to Germany. It is a chance at something historic and we want to give everything to present ourselves as a united country — from north to south and from east to west.

“That’s our goal and what we’re working towards. Thank you for the trust,” he added.

The Munich bid centers on the Olympic Park in the north of the city. Built for the 1972 Games, it has undergone extensive renovations in recent years.

In a statement issued moments after the announcement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz congratulated Munich.

“Germany has an Olympic candidate. Munich will enter the race on our behalf, and I warmly congratulate the state capital and the Free State of Bavaria on this,” he said.

“Now, together with our Olympic candidate, we eagerly look forward to this major event… Germany is ready for the Olympics.”

In order to shore up support for the bid, Munich held a referendum in the autumn of 2025. Almost two-thirds (66.4 percent) of voters cast their ballot in support of hosting the games, on a turnout of 44 percent.

The positive result was a stark contrast to previous Olympic referenda, with votes to host the 2022 Winter Games in Munich or the 2024 Summer Games in Hamburg failing to win support. Hamburg’s hopes were undermined by a negative public consultation while another hopeful, Berlin, decided against holding a referendum.

The DOSB is set to begin a “continuous dialogue” with the IOC ahead of a shortlisting process in March 2027. The IOC will designate one or more preferred hosts in late 2028, with an eventual bid to be selected by the IOC in mid 2029.

The Bavarian capital has become accustomed to hosting major sporting events in recent years.

In the 10 days leading up to the DOSB’s decision, Munich was chosen as the host of the 2028 Champions League final — having done so in 2012 and 2025 — along with the 2031 World Athletics Championships.

Munich’s Allianz Arena was selected to host the first regular-season NFL match on German soil in 2022 and will do so for a third time in November.

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