StefanMUC

Obviously, the 100 m preliminaries would need to be scheduled on day -1 if day 1 is already the final. There will likely be 4 rounds, and you can have max 3 in one day, rather 2 IMHO. Probably have a pre-opening session with qualifiers in some throws or jumps too. Then again, this might clash with the OC preparations… Day 1 in athletics is usually just one final, e.g. 10 km, plus qualifiers, with the 100 final on Day 2, and having that in the middle of the overall schedule so far was not a big deal. But with the new sequence of athletics first, and the obvious wish to put a „big bang“ event like 100 m right there at the beginning, I hope they‘ve thought this through.

Exactly.

Biology might solve this before July 2028.

I love the smell of another Bach legacy unravelling in the morning… Maybe that’ll also cool down chances for any Saudi bid for the real thing?

Yes. The stadium is being renovated the next few years and the athletics WC is eyed upon to be the first big event when it’s ready again. A big plus of the Olympiapark here that it is very well located and connected. I think you can reach it by public transport from every part of the city in 30-45 minutes max. Makes it easier to motivate the public using the facilities (pool is the best in town for me). Am going to Athens next week for the first time in almost 30 years and thought about visiting OAKA but then I saw how far out and badly connected it is (in comparison), so me and the family will visit other Greek ruins instead.

Link in German here: https://www.ndr.de/ndrfragt/olympische-spiele-mehrheit-in-hamburg-lehnt-plaene-ab,olympia-418.html There is a box saying it is not a representative but weighted poll, and it had more than 6000 respondents in Hamburg alone, more than 24000 in the region altogether, so the sample size is quite big. It was of course also conducted before the Munich result was known, so this does not yet reflect on the answers given in this poll.

The 1972 village is very much in use for housing, as it should, and will certainly not be demolished. The new village is planned a bit further away on grounds that are anyway going to be projected for housing (currently agriculture area at the north-east edge of the city).

I don’t think I’ve seen any credible polls here actually. It was all a bit left in the dark as to how this would end up. Hamburg just had one by the public broadcaster where 60% were against bidding (see also the other thread about the referendum), so this isn’t looking good.

Chances for a positive outcome were probably the highest indeed in Munich, given that 1972 really left a lasting legacy on the city (hey, I was in the Olympic pool swimming yesterday morning!), obviously not talking about the terror attack but about urban development here. And there has been the recent success of the 2022 European Championships still fresh in peoples’ minds. Then again, the 2013 referendum showed that also here there’s no guarantee the five rings will be welcomed with open arms again.

As it happens, NDR (main public broadcaster in northern Germany) released a poll this morning that 60% of Hamburg voters are against bidding. Not undecided, but against. This seems like an uphill battle to me. Link in German, also talking about a bit more support in neighbouring regions, but not much: https://www.ndr.de/ndrfragt/olympische-spiele-mehrheit-in-hamburg-lehnt-plaene-ab,olympia-418.html

As for Cologne, that rebranding is nowhere official yet, at least not on the official bid website. But a few weeks ago, the former DOSB CEO (who left the organisation under somewhat dubious circumstances last year) was elected Mayor of Cologne. This could actually indeed lead to stronger focus on Cologne (still, what about the stadium?!), but as you wrote, might be this diesn’t go down too well in other places, most importantly the old Rhine rival Düsseldorf. Or they’ll accept with gritted teeth as it may increase their chances for a share of the pie.

DOSB leaves many things in obscurity. Autumn 2026 seems to be the timeframe. Public opinion/results are part of the picture of course, but “technical assessments” will probably also play a big role, e.g. finances, sustainability, infrastructure…just like in the good old IOC bid races. Maybe we can get a bid index for it? 😃 And as I said before, there’s the parochialism too. No guarantee the best bid (I’m trying to be unbiased here…but Munich does have the best technical one from what we know so far, and now has a vote result that will be very difficult to match) will get the nod eventually. Hamburg might indeed have this old city rivalry reinforced, we’ll see in the next few months. The most recent referendum in Hamburg some weeks ago was about forcing the city to get stricter climate policies. That was clearly approved by voters against the express wish of most major parties (including the Greens, who are part of Hamburg’s govt!). As that vote is legally binding, it might also have an effect on how the bid plan will be refined further. Especially building a new stadium for HSV and then removing the track after the Games must be the biggest headache still.

Oh yes, forgot to say this too: As soon as Bach is out the door, Germans vote in favour of the Olympics. It’s actually hilarious.

The official ballot question was "Should Munich bid for the Olympic Games of 2036/2040/2044?" So they left it open, which is probably the smartest thing in this volatile IOC selection world nowadays. TBH some of those infrastructure projects needed would hardly be done by 2036 anyway. What still speaks against Munich: We've had our turn, and that could be a factor in consideration should other regions/cities also have positive referendum outcomes (apparently Rhein-Ruhr in April, Hamburg in May, Berlin in Never) by the time DOSB decides, even if those have lower approval results in the end.

Preliminary end result: Yes 305201 votes (66.4%) No 154207 votes (33.6%) A 2/3 majority, this is an absolute (and in this form completely unexpected) triumph, there can be no other word for it! Whether this will mean anything in national and international competition is another matter though of course. But tonight I'll be very happy to be an Olympics fan in Munich - especially since my own district had one of the highest turnouts and the overall highest Yes result even (71.7%) - also for the 2013 referendum we were the only area that actually voted in favour. And speaking of turnout and 2013, I keep repeating that a major tactical mistake was to have that referendum held not in connection with the Bavarian elections that year but a few weeks later separately. This purely political consideration led to a much lower turnout (29% then, 42% today), and helped the No campaign winning for sure. As for the No campaign, their leaders were understandably unhappy tonight, but said they will now move on to watch closely whether the promises will be kept. And one more funny observation: The lowest turnout by far was in the city district where actually the Olympiapark is located (it still voted 68% Yes).