Overview
- The three remaining bidders — Berlin, Munich and Köln‑Rhein‑Ruhr — submitted their final Olympic and Paralympic concepts to the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund on Friday and the DOSB has begun a detailed review scheduled to finish by the end of August.
- North Rhine‑Westphalia reworked its Köln‑Rhein‑Ruhr plan after Herten failed to meet a referendum quorum, which led the Staatskanzlei to exclude Recklinghausen despite a 72.85% yes vote.
- As part of NRW’s adjustments the mountain‑bike course was moved to Essen’s Brammentrail, boxing finals are planned for Bochum’s Ruhrstadion and water polo will be held at Landschaftspark Duisburg‑Nord.
- Hamburg withdrew after a late‑May referendum rejected a bid and regional officials have publicly criticised the national selection process for high campaign spending and apparent waste, with combined campaign costs cited at about €46 million.
- The DOSB’s commission will review the evaluations and recommend next steps before members vote on 26 September to name Germany’s candidate, after which the International Olympic Committee will decide the final host city and year.