Hamburg Drops Olympic Bid After Public Vote Rejects Hosting Plan

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Hamburg : Hamburg has withdrawn its bid to host a future Summer Olympics after residents voted against the proposal in a referendum, ending the city's hopes of staging the Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044.

With nearly all ballots counted, 55 per cent of voters opposed the Olympic bid while 45 per cent supported it. About half of eligible voters took part in the vote, which city officials had hoped would demonstrate strong public backing for the project.

Following the result, Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher said the city would formally withdraw its candidacy and had informed both the German Olympic Federation (DOSB) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While expressing disappointment, he thanked supporters who had campaigned to bring the Olympics to the city.

The outcome marks the second time in just over a decade that Hamburg residents have rejected an Olympic bid. In 2015, voters also turned down a proposal to host the 2024 Summer Games.

Hamburg had been one of four German contenders seeking nomination as the country's candidate for a future Olympics. The remaining candidates are Berlin, Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region. The DOSB is expected to select one of them in September to put forward to the IOC.

Support for hosting the Games has been stronger elsewhere in Germany. Munich voters approved an Olympic bid in a 2025 referendum, while voters in the Rhine-Ruhr region also backed a proposal earlier this year. In the northern city of Kiel, which hopes to host sailing events if Germany wins the bid, a majority of residents supported the plan.

Germany has not hosted a Summer Olympics since Munich staged the Games in 1972. Berlin previously hosted the Olympics in 1936.

Pic : Representative Image