The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has confirmed that a restricted circle of 42 Olympic leading sports associations, along with select executive board members and eight active or recently retired athletes including footballer Leon Goretzka, will vote on Germany’s official candidate city for the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games on September 26, 2026, in Baden-Baden.
Following Hamburg’s withdrawal from the bidding process after a public referendum, three regional concepts remain in contention: Berlin, Munich, and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, encompassing Cologne. These bids target the Summer Games scheduled for 2036, 2040, or 2044. The specific voting mechanism had remained a point of debate until the DOSB clarified the governing parameters ahead of the extraordinary general assembly.
Resolving the DOSB Statute Debate
The voting franchise had been subject to conflicting interpretations under the DOSB statute. While general assemblies previously handled bid decisions collectively—including organizations outside the Olympic sphere—Paragraph 16 of the DOSB bylaws explicitly restricts voting on matters tied directly to the Olympic Games to the recognized Olympic leading sports associations. Otto Fricke, the DOSB Chief Executive, stated in a broadcast on NDR that the “Olympic member associations” would decide the matter. A DOSB spokesperson subsequently confirmed to Sportschau that Paragraph 16 applies unless the extraordinary general assembly resolves otherwise.
Under this rule, 42 Olympic Spitzenverbände hold voting power. Organizations outside this specific classification—namely the 16 state sports confederations, the 28 non-Olympic leading associations, and the 17 member organizations with special tasks—do not possess a vote in selecting the national candidate. Each participating Olympic association receives three votes, regardless of its total membership size. This system stands in contrast to standard DOSB ballots, where larger member bodies control up to five votes and associations with fewer than 100,000 members hold a single vote.
Athlete Representation and Voting Eligibility
In addition to the sports associations and the 10 members of the DOSB presidium, eight personal members of the organization hold individual votes for the September meeting in Baden-Baden. The DOSB selected these eight voters from its roster of twelve personal members based on specific career criteria: candidates must maintain an active athletic career or have competed in the Olympic Games within the past three cycles.
Other eligible personal members include hockey player Moritz Fürste, canoe polo athlete Elena Gilles, rower Jonathan Lackhoff, Para-alpine skier Anna Schaffelhuber, Para-sports shooter Manuela Schmermund, and badminton player Marc Zwiebler. Conversely, personal members whose profiles fall outside the athletic continuity criteria—such as swimmer and functionary Klaus Steinbach, sport patron Alexander Otto, economist Veronika Grimm, and swimmer Yusra Mardini—do not receive voting privileges for this assembly.
Evaluation Process and Next Checkpoints
Ahead of the September 26 vote, which is scheduled for broadcast live on ARD (Das Erste), the candidate concepts undergo rigorous review. The Olympic Spitzenverbände and the DOSB jointly assess Berlin, Munich, and Rhine-Ruhr against technical standards, including technical sports suitability and international competitiveness. An evaluation commission comprising two representatives each from the political sector, the DOSB, and the Olympic Spitzenverbände will issue a formal recommendation based on these assessments.
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