In response to its president indicating his worry over Germany hosting the Olympics in 2036 on the 100th anniversary of the Berlin Games of the Nazi era, the head of the German Olympic sports, Thomas Weikert, said on Saturday that Germany was still hoping to host the Olympic Games.
The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) is yet to make a decision to propose a candidate for Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and the Rhine-Ruhr area to host the 2036, 2040 and 2044 Games.
The initial date of the three might be disputable, though.
A spokesperson of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday said that “the year 2036 was considered a problematic year in the history of the German bid.”
However, the President of DOSB Weikert assured the media at the German House during the Winter Games at Cortina d’Ampezzo that there were no finalised dates.
“It is the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that determines when the Games will be hosted in Europe. Probably they say that 2036 belongs to Asia or Africa,” he said.
“Accordingly, I would say that we should be prepared to host the Games (whenever they choose). This is in regard to all three versions.”
“We intend to demonstrate a good Germany. This would also apply to 2036.”
HITLER’S PROPAGANDA
The Berlin Games of 1936 have been mostly remembered as they were turned into a Nazi propaganda tool by the German leader Adolf Hitler.
Another notable success among them is the remarkable Black sprinter Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals and broke the Nazi myth of Aryan racial superiority in front of the party leadership.
The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder stated that Steinmeier had the right concerns, but he did not voice them.
“The hosting of the Games in Germany on that date,” he said this week, “would be an opportunity to show the world, as well as the younger generation in Germany, what we as a democratic Germany had learned over our history.”
Los Angeles is the host of the next 2028 Games after Paris 2024, and then the city of Brisbane in Australia in 2032.
Budapest and Doha are also interested in the 2036 Games together with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India.
Bidding has been suspended awaiting an IOC review, yet the Olympics have always been given from continent to continent.
