Munich will officially represent Germany in the international bidding race to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games from 2036 onward. The decision, finalized during an official ceremony at the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, came with an unexpected moment of drama when DOSB President Thomas Weikert fumbled the opening of the decisive envelope in front of a live audience.
The Envelope Fiasco in Baden-Baden
The selection process reached its climax on stage when a notary handed over a large white envelope containing the name of the winning candidate city—either Munich or KölnRheinRuhr. DOSB President Thomas Weikert and German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier were tasked with a joint presentation sequence: Weikert was to open the envelope and hand the slip of paper to Steinmeier, who would then announce the winner to the public.
However, Weikert opened the envelope awkwardly, accidentally exposing the name of the winner to attentive members of the audience. A sharp murmur swept through the hall, immediately catching the attention of moderator Esther Sedlaczek. “Oh!” she blurted out, before quieting the room with a quick quip: “Well, one or the other might have already seen something.”
Federal President Steinmeier noticed the slip immediately and abandoned any attempt to pretend the procedure was running according to plan. The 70-year-old laughed off the mishap, took the paper, and leaned into the microphone. “Whoever hasn’t seen it yet, I’ll tell them,” Steinmeier said, pausing for dramatic effect before delivering the decisive verdict: “Winner is… Munich.”
Live Television Realities and Rehearsal Surprises
The unscripted reveal starkly contrasted with preparations made just a day prior. In an interview on Thursday, Weikert had been asked if he and the Federal President needed to rehearse opening the envelope. At the time, Weikert expressed full confidence: “Rest assured that I will speak with the Federal President beforehand and we will coordinate that. I know him quite well, and we will certainly get it done properly.”
Reflecting on the mishap immediately afterward, Weikert explained to reporters at the venue that live television brings its own unpredictable hurdles. “Yesterday during the rehearsal, they gave me the envelope with the winner the other way around,” Weikert said. “Today I didn’t check beforehand. Live is live.”
A Historic Chance for Munich
Despite the procedural hiccup, the mistake did not dampen the celebrations among the Munich delegation inside the Kurhaus. “The joy is infinite,” declared OB Dominik Krause. Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the magnitude of the victory and the intense competition posed by the rival bid. “The people of Cologne made it quite exciting and difficult for us,” Söder said. “From now on, it means: work very hard. It is a historic chance.”
Munich faces a crowded and formidable international field for the 2036 Games. Potential rival bidders include Qatar, India, Madrid, Istanbul, London, and Budapest. Söder stressed that the German bid must rely on national unity moving forward. “We want to give everything so that at the end, collectively as Germany, as a partner for the North, for the South, for the East and West, we present ourselves as one country,” Söder stated.
