After Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit announced the capital city's bid, subject to a referendum, yesterday morning, Hamburg Senate spokesman Christoph Holstein confirmed the similar intentions of the northern city. 

He revealed a working group has been formed, the work of which is already "very intense and busy", and they are confident their bid will meet with approval.

At a time when there is reluctance to bid for the Olympic Games throughout the western world, and particularly in Western Europe, the intentions of Germany's two largest cities is pleasing, although it will not be known for some time which, if either, will ultimately go ahead. 

Each city will now submit responses to a questionnaire issued by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) ahead of the deadline due on Sunday (August 31), before the National Olympic Committee begin a decision-making process.

If either Berlin or Hamburg is successful, it would the mark the first Olympics on German soil since Munich 1972 ©Getty Images



DOSB communications director Christian Klaue told insidethegames the bids are due to be discussed at the organisation's Board Meeting on September 11 and then again at the General Assembly in Dresden on December 6, although it is not certain a decision will be made on either occasion.

"We do want to bid, but it is a question of the right time and the right city," he said, meaning that, if 2024 was deemed unsuitable, both would be considered again for the 2028 decision. 

Unlike Berlin, which hosted the Olympics in 1936 and launched an ill-fated campaign for the 2000 Games eventually awarded to Sydney, Hamburg has never bid internationally for the Games.

The city, among those used to host matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, did attempt to bid for the 2012 edition of the Games, but was defeated by rival German city Leipzig at the internal stage before Leipzig itself was eliminated at the applicant stage of the contest. 

Coming from a city with a proud tradition of fiscal prudence, it can be expected that Hamburg's bid will focus around sustainability, taking advantage of existing facilities in nearby locations as well as the city itself.

This will potentially include Kiel, the town 100 kilometres away in which both the 1936 and 1972 Olympic sailing competitions were held. 

There has been no indication that a referendum will take place in Hamburg to ascertain popular support - although this could still ultimately be the case - with a survey finding 73 per cent of the local population support the attempt.

This compares favourably with a similar one in Berlin indicating just 52 per cent support.

The nearby sailing venue in Kiel could form part of Hamburg's Olympic bid
©DPA/Getty Images



The official International Olympic Committee (IOC) contest for the 2024 Games is not scheduled to start until the autumn of next year, with the winning city due to be selected in 2017.

It is assumed, though, that an American city - either Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington DC - will start as the favourite, particularly after the signing of a long-term agreement between the IOC and broadcasting giants NBC Universal in June.

But a number of other European cities are considering bids for 2024, including Paris on what would be the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Games there, as well as Rome and Istanbul.

With Patrick Kammer having replaced Najat Vallaud-Belkacem as French Youth and Sports Minister yesterday after a cabinet reshuffle in which Vallaud-Belkacem moved to the Education Department, the last 24 hours has been an interesting time for the potential Parisian, as well as German, bids. 

Time will tell whether the new Minister is more or less in favour of launching a bid. 

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March 2014: Berlin Mayor reiterates city's readiness for 2024 Olympics