Hamburg nominated as 2024 bidding city

German's Olympic Sports Confederation has decided to recommend Hamburg as Germany's candidate city for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The decision sees Berlin miss out on the bidding process.

"We agreed by majority for the city of Hamburg and that is why we are standing here today, united, with this recommendation," said Alfons Hörmann, the DOSB president, speaking of the deliberations within the organization's board on Monday in Frankfurt.

"Hamburg has presented a fascinating and compact Olympic concept. It will help Hamburg grow as a north German - as a north European - metropolis."

DOSB executive members cast their vote on Monday, but Hörmann decided not to take part in the vote "for reasons of neutrality." He wasn't prepared to go into detail on how each member of the board voted.

"There were various criteria that helped us make our decision," Hörmann told DW at the press conference. "We did have to consider the prevailing support in the cities, and the result of the Forsa survey was one of the things that played a role here. Just one of the things."

Hamburg 'honored'

Hamburg's mayor, Olaf Scholz, said that being nominated as Germany's candidate city was "a very, very great honor."

"We believe that for Hamburg, for Germany, and for everyone who loves sport, this will be a big deal," Scholz told reporters after the announcement.

On March 21, the DOSB organization will hold an extraordinary meeting in Frankfurt with its members to vote on the recommendation, but it is considered a given that the DOSB board's recommendation will be confirmed.

The host city of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be announced by the International Olympic Committee in Lima, Peru in the summer of 2017.