German Minister Nancy Faeser has signed an agreement, confirming that the federal republic will bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2040. Here’s what the next steps will be: 

Germany plans to bid on Olympic Games 2040

German Minister for the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser (SPD) has signed an official agreement that Germany will bid to host the Olympic Games in 2040.

At a press conference in Paris, Faeser and representatives from the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) signed the agreement. The formal application will be submitted sometime in 2025.

"The government stands united behind a new German bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We want to utilise the great opportunities that the Olympic Games offer for our cohesion, our economy, and sport," Faeser said at the conference. The German government has said that it is prepared to pay a total of 6,95 million euros to make a bid for the games. 

After initially making a bid for the 2034 games, to be held 100 years after the Olympics were infamously hosted by Nazi Germany, the federal republic dropped out because of high costs. Both the bidding process, preparation and hosting cost countries well into the billions, with the Beijing Olympics having cost China around 52 billion US dollars in 2008.

While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) often advertises hosting as an opportunity for a national economic boost, a 2016 study by Victor Matheson and Robert Baade published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that “in most cases, the Olympics are a money-losing proposition for host cities”. 

Which German city would host the 2040 Olympics?

If Germany does win its bid, the Olympic torch will arrive in the federal republic 50 years after German reunification - the symbolism of which Faeser was eager to point out at the Paris press conference.

Cities and regions in the former West and East are contenders to host; including Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Hamburg and the region around the Rhine River and Ruhrgebiet.

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