Thousands Of Students Stage Protest Against Leipzig 2012

A ceremony in support of Leipzig’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games had to be moved from the bid committee’s headquarters to a Leipzig hotel after about 3,800 students blocked its entrance in protest of proposed cuts in funding for universities and the possibility of student fees being raised.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other officials were there to attend the signing of a questionnaire that will be returned to the International Olympic Committee, making Leipzig’s bid official.

Schroeder said at the ceremony, “I believe very much in the bid and I am counting on its success. Leipzig is capable of staging the Games. This is not a bid by Leipzig alone, it’s a national job”.

Leipzig is one of nine cities bidding for the 2012 Games required to submit a bid questionnaire by Monday. Write or read comments about this article