In May, the DOSB requested that both cities complete a document containing 13 questions outlining the various aspects of any potential bid, which had to be completed by yesterday.

The DOSB is yet to set a deadline for a decision on which city it will back or if it will target the 2024 or 2028 edition of the Games.

Both documents will now be assessed and discussed by the DOSB Bureau at meetings over the coming months before any decision is made.

The Berlin bid plans to use the Olympiastadion, which was used for the controversial 1936 Games, along with a number of other old venues, while there are plans to make use of land at the city's Tegel Airport, which is due to be shut down following the opening of a new international airport - currently under construction - in the German capital.

A newly-built Olympic Stadium would form the centrepiece of Hamburg's bid, which would see the majority of the Games take place in the Kleiner Grasbrook region of the city.

The proposed Olympic Stadium would have its capacity reduced to 20,000 following the Games to ensure future use, while officials claim the Athletes' Village would be utilised to meet a housing shortage in the city post the Games.

The Olympiastadion in Berlin would play host to events again in any Berlin bid for the 2024 or 2028 Games ©Bongarts/Getty Images




After receiving the documents, DOSB President Alfons Hörmann, said: "We are delighted that two strong German cities with high international recognition want to align themselves with the Olympic Games.

"The aim of our questionnaire is to meet the conditions for a possible Olympic bid in two cities in detail.

"We will now evaluate the answers and discuss in detail.

"Following the discussion process we will decide if we apply with Berlin or Hamburg and, where appropriate, at what time for the Olympic Games."

Hörmann went on to point out that any bid for the 2024 Games would have to "be done in close coordination" with a proposed bid by the German Football Association (DFB) for the staging of the 2024 European Football Championships.

The DFB is believed to be considering sole hosting rights for European football's showpiece event in 10 years' time as it is widely believed they are shelving any plans to host the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020, with Wembley Stadium in London seen as the favourite.

Germany lasted hosted the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972.

Berlin last bid for the Olympic Games in 1993 but lost out to Sydney for the 2000 Games in a campaign that was marred by protests from the public.

It remains to be seen how strong German public support for any potential bid for 2024 or 2028 would be considering Munich's bid for the 2022 Winter Games was over before it had really started after failing to pass a referendum last November.

DOSB President Alfons Hörmann says each concept document will now be assessed over the coming months ©Bongarts/Getty Images




But a recent survey in Hamburg, which has never hosted an Olympics, claimed 73 per cent of the population there supported an Olympic bid.

"It is important to again be aware that we are at the beginning of a long process, whose clear aim is to bring the Olympic Games to Germany," added Hörmann.

"But the crucial prerequisite for this is clear approval of the affected citizens and all social groups."

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.

The United States is also toying with a bid, with a shortlist containing Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

All this comes at a time when the whole cost and wider economic and legacy implications of bidding for Games is being reviewed as part of the Olympic Agenda 2020 process.