With five strong contenders in the running to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games – Paris, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Rome, Budapest – each will be looking for an edge to outshine its competitors in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee.
Hamburg earned some points this week, as its German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) poll revealed that 63% of local residents support the city’s pursuit to host the world’s biggest sporting event. Compare this to a recent survey in the city of Budapest, which resulted in just 46% in favor of their city’s hosting the Olympics in 2024.
For those opposed to a Hamburg bid, concerns about overall event costs were cited as the primary reason for not supporting the venture. Bidding organizers have estimated Hamburg’s budget to be in the ballpark of around $2.3 billion (£1.5 million/€2.1 billion).
Says DOSB President Alfons Hoermann of the cost concerns, “On the one hand we are very transparent and tell the people all about the costs of possible Olympic Games. On the other hand we remind them of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany or the 1972 Games in Munich, which had a very positive effect on the development of the region around Munich and sport in general in Germany.”
The bidding committee is aspiring to increase citizens’ approval ratings even further, to avoid repeating Munich’s failed attempt to bid on the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which were ultimately awarded to Beijing.
The winning 2024 city will be selected by the IOC during a session to be held in Lima, Peru in 2017.