Hamburg, Germany, Officially Enters Race To Host 2024 Summer Olympics

Photo Courtesy: Reinhard Kraasch

Though Hamburg had long been considered a contender for the job of hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the German city officially put its name in the hat by submitting a bid to the International Olympic Committee Wednesday.

That makes five cities officially vying for the hosting duties, with just a few days left before the IOC’s deadline for submissions. Paris, Rome and Budapest are all in the running, as is Los Angeles, which made its candidacy official last week.

Toronto is also considering a run for the 2024 Olympics, but has not gotten approval from the proper officials to move forward.

Of the five official candidates, Hamburg might be the least known city. The city of 1.7 million people is located 180 miles northwest of Berlin, and is the second-largest city in Germany. Berlin had been an early favorite among German cities for the candidacy, but Hamburg won. Berlin had hosted the Olympics in 1936, under the guise of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party. The event returned to Germany in 1972 in Munich. Tragedy befell those Games, when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.

If Hamburg gets the bid for the 2024 Olympics, it would put the Summer Olympics in one of the smallest cities population-wise since Helsinki in 1952. Mayor Olaf Scholz called Hamburg “a gateway to the world” in announcing the bid, and said the city that lies on the Elbe River has the capability to host a “transparent, compact, modern Olympic Games.”

The organizers of the Hamburg bid have not publicly released their bid book, but it is likely many new venues will have to be created, particularly for aquatics events. Germany almost always holds its major meets in Berlin, including last summer’s European championships. That meet was held in the Velodrome, with a temporary pool installed in the large venue.

Though Hamburg has been officially entered into the race for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the stressful part is still yet to come for organizers. The public will vote in November to approve the bid and provide money to pay for building venues and paying for new infrastructure.

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