Munich decides: Olympic bid supported with 66.4%!

Munich decides: Olympic bid supported with 66.4%!

A significant step was announced in Munich on Sunday evening: In a historic decision, the citizens clearly voted in favor of applying for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Mayor Dieter Reiter announced the positive result - around 66.4 percent of voters support the application for the games, which could take place in 2036, 2040 or 2044 muenchen.de reported. This makes Munich one of the few cities in the world to have won such a referendum for the Olympic Games.

Over 1.1 million Munich residents were eligible to vote, and voter turnout was an impressive 42.0 percent - a new record compared to previous referendums in the city. For comparison: The previous high was 37.5 percent in the referendum on the construction of the new football arena in 2001. It was crucial for the referendum that at least 10 percent of those entitled to vote took part, i.e. around 110,000 people, which was successfully achieved. On the day of the vote, postal voting recorded a high turnout early on - 4.8 percent of the votes had already been cast by 4:30 p.m tagesschau.de highlights.

Opportunities and challenges

The supporters of the application have great expectations: They hope that the Olympic spirit will give a boost to urban development, housing construction and local public transport. At the same time, the opponents of the application, represented by the “NOlympia” alliance, are in full opposition. They warn of possible debts and an increase in the cost of living.

An exciting detail: It is planned that some competitions will also take place in surrounding towns, for example rowing could take place in Oberschleißheim and swimming in Lake Starnberg. The Olympic Park and the stadium from 1972 would play a central role. In addition, sports facilities are planned in various Munich parks and on the exhibition grounds, which supports the diverse use of the infrastructure.

A look into the future

The National Olympic Committee's decision on the bids will be made in 2026, followed by the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Bavarian state government and several sports associations have already pledged their support for Munich's application. Nevertheless, critics fear a high financial burden: estimates for the infrastructure and security measures amount to at least 5 billion euros.

With the referendum that has now been reached, Munich has taken a big step towards the Olympic Games. The discussion will certainly continue, but the result shows that the city and its citizens are ready to face this challenge and to discuss and address a sustainable implementation of the Games.