Franziska van Almsick (45) supports another German bid for the Olympics. This “would mean a jolt for sport and also have an impact on society,” said the former world-class swimmer to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine”.
“I am convinced that the Olympics have relevance for society as a whole if important issues such as sustainability are implemented well. Not many countries can do that anymore. Germany can do it. We should take responsibility.” The last Olympic Games took place in Germany in 1972, the venue was Munich.
Last month, a majority of German citizens supported a German bid for the Olympics in a survey commissioned by the German Press Agency. “That’s exactly why we have to move,” demanded van Almsick: “It’s not about applying for ‘Devil Come Out’, but about convincing people of the positive aspects. Everyone can still be on the platform many years later “All over the world can see what positive effects the Summer Games in Munich 1972 had on the city’s infrastructure and its residents.”
Goal: candidacy for 2036 or 2040
At least the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is already planning. At the beginning of December, at its general meeting in Frankfurt am Main, the DOSB decided to develop a detailed concept for an Olympic bid by adopting a “Frankfurt Declaration”.
The aim is to apply for the Summer Games in 2036 or 2040. Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region have specifically expressed their interest in applying with declarations of intent.
The previous Olympic campaigns in Germany had failed due to resistance and the vote of the population in Munich and Hamburg. “Sport can, in my experience, overcome differences. It is an ideal playing field for this because skin color, religion and political views do not play a role. The athletes compete under fair, peaceful conditions. But the world seems to be doing so more and more to lose,” said van Almsick. She won four silver and six bronze medals at the Olympic Games between 1992 and 2004.
