Citizens' referendums on the planned German Olympic bid delivered clear support for the initiative in North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday. In North Rhine-Westphalia, voters in 16 of 17 cities backed a regional bid, as municipalities announced following the vote count. Only in Herten did the referendum fail to meet the required approval threshold.
The result in Kiel was equally decisive: 63.5 percent of participants voted in favor of a bid, while 36.5 percent voted against. Voter turnout reached 29.1 percent, according to the Schleswig-Holstein state capital.
The highest approval rate in North Rhine-Westphalia for the Olympic bid came from Aachen at 76.3 percent, while Cologne recorded the lowest at 57.4 percent. In Düsseldorf, 67.2 percent voted yes, and in Essen, the figure stood at 64.3 percent.
The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) aims to bring the Summer Olympics to Germany in 2036, 2040, or 2044. The concept is currently being developed. The competing bids include Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and the North Rhine-Westphalian cities under the banner "Cologne.Rhine.Ruhr." Kiel is included in all four bids as the venue for sailing competitions.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) expressed satisfaction with the broad support. The vote represents "a clear yes from the people in North Rhine-Westphalia," he told West German Broadcasting. "It has paid off to trust the people."
"Modern, sustainable Games can only happen with the consent and not against the will of the people in the country," Wüst told journalists in Cologne. Democratic approval from citizens is "the foundation of a successful bid." Preliminary voter turnout stood at an estimated 32 percent, according to Wüst. More than 1.4 million people cast their votes. "That is an outstanding number," Wüst emphasized. The citizen vote is "unprecedented in Olympic history."
Voting took place in North Rhine-Westphalia by postal ballot across 17 cities, including Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Essen. Citizens were also called to participate in Aachen, Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Herten, Krefeld, Leverkusen, Mönchengladbach, Monheim am Rhein, Oberhausen, Pulheim, Recklinghausen, and Wuppertal.
In Herten, the referendum failed despite a clear majority. While 73.8 percent voted in favor, the required minimum number of yes votes was not achieved. The city will therefore be excluded from the bid. Herten, together with Recklinghausen, was designated as the venue for mountain biking competitions.
Kiel's Mayor Ulf Kämpfer (SPD) expressed delight at the outcome in his city on Sunday. "This result is a strong signal and gives us tremendous momentum and tailwind," he stated. Schleswig-Holstein's Minister President Daniel Günther (CDU) called it "a very strong signal." "Kiel is and remains an enthusiastic sports city," he declared.
In autumn, the DOSB will decide which bid Germany will take forward to the international selection process. The Olympic Summer Games for 2028 and 2032 have already been awarded, meaning Germany could host the Games as early as 2036.
Federal and state governments, along with municipal representatives, support a bid but in most cases want to gauge public sentiment first. In Munich, citizens voted clearly in favor of a bid in October. Hamburg has scheduled a referendum for May 31. No public consultation is planned for Berlin.
Plans for a German Olympic bid emerged following the widely regarded successful Summer Games in Paris 2024. However, they remain controversial, particularly due to expected costs and widespread criticism of commercialized mega-events and international sports federations. Olympic Games in 2036 are considered especially politically and symbolically sensitive: exactly 100 years earlier, the Nazis hosted the 1936 Games in Berlin.
Germany last hosted Olympic Summer Games in Munich in 1972. Recent bid attempts have been stopped by public opposition. In 2013, referendums in Munich and Bavaria rejected a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In Hamburg in 2015, a majority also voted against a bid for the 2024 Summer Games in a citizen referendum.
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