The official starting signal has been given for the Berlin campaign to bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was one of the dates that was probably one of my favorite dates Berlin’s tennis-loving governing mayor belong.
Presented in the velodrome Kai Wegner (CDU) presented the first nine campaign motifs and the campaign logo on Friday together with Berlin’s Olympic representative Kaweh Niroomand. Also present were the Senators for Interior Affairs and Sport, Iris Spranger (SPD) and Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU, Education, Youth and Family).
The title of the campaign: “Berlin wins with the Olympics”. The campaign motifs are intended to create a good mood among the population in the capital for the Olympics. In November, a survey commissioned by… Daily Mirror showed a big rejection for an application. Opponents of a possible hosting of the games in Berlin are planning a referendum for next year. The Left Party and the Greens have also largely positioned themselves against the games.
Over 55 dilapidated sports halls
She considers an application “to be completely hopeless” and “organized listlessly by the Senate from the start,” said Klara Schedlich, sports policy spokeswoman for the Greens, to the taz. It would be better to put the money directly into Berlin sports instead of into PR resources. “We have a massive problem with over 55 dilapidated sports halls and swimming pools. No sports can take place there anymore – not even school sports.”
The aim of the application is to create a better sports infrastructure for the sports metropolis of Berlin and the local sports clubs, said Wegner on Friday at the opening event in front of around 300 guests. There were also 150 children among them. Wegner had this in mind when he said that applying for the games was a great opportunity, especially “for our children and young people”. And, addressing the older ones: “Many of us have never experienced the Olympic Games in our own country.”
The popular initiative of the State Sports Association (LSB) for an application has called for a resolution in the House of Representatives with over 28,000 votes collected. The organizers now want to actively involve the population with workshops, online seminars and neighborhood tours, among other things.
Thomas Härtel, President of the LSB, said on Friday on rbb24 Inforadio that a lot of convincing was still needed, but he was convinced that a good atmosphere could be created for the application. It’s about the renovation and construction of new sports facilities. Everyone would benefit from this.
The final decision on the German applicant will be made at an extraordinary general meeting of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) on September 26th. Among others, Munich is also throwing its hat into the ring. It is unclear whether the DOSB will apply for the games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. The elections for the Berlin House of Representatives take place almost a week earlier. (With dpa)