Alfons Hoermann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), told dpa that a simple majority vote by the citizens of Berlin or Hamburg would be enough to launch a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
He said, “in such an instance for once we must act formally. In this regard, a classic quantitative majority is enough to say, ‘we’ll leave it’.
“But of course our goal must be that a vote is won with more than 50 per cent. Over the time the consent, if the proposal is done well and communicated clearly, must increase”.
According to the last surveys 53 per cent of Hamburg residents and 48 per cent of Berliners support an Olympic bid.
Hoermann reportedly dismissed concerns that a German bid could be hampered by the country potentially hosting the European football championships in 2024.
He said, “ask 20 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members where the next European football championship will be held – I predict that three-quarters would have no answer. There would be five or six weeks between the events, that’s why we see things very calmly. I don’t think there would be any event-fatigue or lack of enthusiasm among the German people”.
The DOSB will decide on whether to nominate either Berlin or Hamburg as a candidate city in March 2015. But a bid will not go ahead without the backing of the majority of residents in the preferred city.
