Munich selected as Germany's candidate city for a future Summer Olympics bid
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced Munich as Germany's candidate city at a German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) extraordinary general assembly in Baden-Baden on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Munich defeated a rival bid from Cologne, while Berlin had withdrawn its bid two days earlier. Germany has not chosen a target year and is considering hosting the Summer Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044.
Munich was selected as Germany's candidate city for a future Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games bid at a ceremony in Baden-Baden, where German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the outcome "a huge opportunity for the whole of Germany." The decision was made by the DOSB at an extraordinary general assembly, with Munich defeating Cologne to advance as the national candidate.
Munich's bid had scored highest in a DOSB evaluation of cities on sports facilities and international appeal, published the Wednesday before the vote. The bid also carried a referendum mandate: Munich residents approved it by a two-thirds majority in a vote held the previous year.
The Cologne-based bid would have spread competitions across 15 towns and cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, including venues in the post-industrial Ruhr valley. Berlin withdrew Thursday after finishing a distant third in the evaluation; local politicians there had declined to hold a public referendum, and their position was further weakened when they lost local elections won by the Left party, whose local leader opposed the bid. A Hamburg bid was also dropped after it lost a referendum in May.