Berlin withdraws from the Olympic race / Munich and Cologne remain Germany’s candidates

Berlin has withdrawn from the race to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Olympics, according to public broadcaster RBB. The decision leaves Munich and Cologne, together with the Rhine/Ruhr region, as the final candidates ahead of the vote by the German Olympic Committee (DOSB), scheduled for Saturday in Baden-Baden.

Berlin’s withdrawal comes after Sunday’s local elections, which changed the composition of the city council. Elif Eralp, leader of the Die Linke party list, which came first with 25% of the vote, announced that she did not support the Olympic bid. Berlin had not held a referendum, but the city council had approved the bid on May 21.

In the DOSB assessment, Berlin scored 74.64 points out of 100, compared with 85.02 for Cologne-Rhine/Ruhr and 87.03 for Munich. Hamburg had withdrawn earlier, after voters rejected the bid in a referendum held at the end of May.

Germany hosted the Summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936 and in Munich in 1972. The first edition was used by the Nazi regime for propaganda purposes, while the Munich Games were marked by the attack on the Israeli delegation, which left 11 people dead.