Berlin and Hamburg sent questionnaire as process to decide whether Germany should bid for 2024 Olympics begins

By Nick Butler

A series of questions has been submitted to Berlin and Hamburg by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) to decide if either of the two cities are capable of bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The questionnaire, consisting of 13 questions agreed by the DOSB following a meeting in Frankfurt, begins with the seemingly straightforward theme of why a bid is being planned, and how it will contribute to the local population and to sport across Germany.

More detailed questions then follow on the projected cost, as well as on likely locations of sport venues and the Olympic Village.

Other issues raised range from sustainability to transport, and from the Paralympic Games to hotel rooms.

Perhaps most significantly, the questionnaire states that: "An Olympic bid needs the support and acceptance of the majority of people", before asking what measures would be taken to gain approval, both in the city and across Germany.

"We have met in recent weeks with political leaders and the Presidents of the provincial sports associations of Berlin and Hamburg," said DOSB President Alfons Hörmann.

"In this case, both cities have underlined their strong interest in the Olympic bid.

"In both conversations, it became clear that an intra-German process modelled after the Olympic bid in 2012 was deemed impractical by all parties.

"The DOSB is keen to establish early which German city will enter the race."

Hamburg has never hosted either a Summer or Winter Olympic Games and is the dark horse of the two potential contenders ©AFP/Getty Images

Last week there was a call from the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, for a joint bid between Hamburg and his city which would be against the Olympic Charter and, therefore, cannot be considered by the DOSB.

Berlin and Hamburg are each required to answer the questionnaire by August 31 in time for a meeting of the DOSB Bureau to take place in the autumn, along with consultation with the wider governing body and other sporting federations.

A final decision is due to be made at the DOSB General Assembly in Dresden on December 6, to leave enough time for the winning city to prepare a bid before the process is officially opened by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the autumn of 2015.

Effort will also be made to gather national and international opinions on a potential German bid, as well as to consider whether a bid is viable in conjunction with the one launched last October by the German Football Association for the 2024 European Football Championships.

The progress of the IOC's Agenda 2020 reform process, due to be debated at the IOC Session in Monte Carlo on December 8 and 9 and which could have implications on the future bidding process, will also be studied by DOSB.

It can also be assumed that the bid will only go ahead with the backing of the IOC President, and former DOSB chief, Thomas Bach.

Berlin would be aiming to host the Olympics for the first time since 1936
©Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The questionnaire marks the latest example of countries adopting stern criteria to analyse potential applicants in the 2024 race following the launching of a Feasibility Study yesterday featuring over 200 contributors across France to consider a bid from Paris.

A fierce process is also being conducted by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to consider which one of six potential cities across the US will enter the race, with the shortlist due to be whittled down to no more than three candidates by June.

This all comes at a time of opposition among members of the European public to the idea of an Olympic bid.

Stockholm and Kraków having each withdrawn from the race for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics after failing to gain popular support, with a referendum on Sunday (May 25) finding that 69.72 per cent of the Polish city's citizens opposed the bid.

A bid from Munich for the 2022 Games also failed to reach the startline after failing to pass a referendum last November.

This followed the city's failure to land the 2018 Winter Olympics after Munich finished second behind South Korean winner Pyeongchang.

The last German bid for a Summer Olympics was launched by Leipzig for the 2012 Games, but it was eliminated before the candidature phase of the contest.

The last time Berlin bid for the Olympics - the 2000 edition - they started the race as favourite, hoping to cap the decade of German reconstruction and reunification by hosting the first Games of the new millennium.

But there were a series of protests against the campaign, including fires, smashed windows, vandalised automobiles, stolen files, disrupted athletic competitions and, in a favourite tactic, glue was poured into locks on the front doors of businesses that sponsored the bid.

Bombs were also exploded in front of buildings that were owned by three prominent sponsors of the bid, Daimler-Benz, Berliner Bank and Hertie's, a department store chain.

Four days before the final vote in Monte Carlo in 1993, tens of thousands of anti-Olympic protesters marched through the German capital to make clear their opposition to the campaign.

In the end, Berlin were eliminated in the second round of voting with only nine votes as the Games were awarded to Sydney