Berlin senate unanimously endorses plans for potential Olympic bid

(L-R) Governing Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner, Senator for the Interior and Sports Iris Spranger, Managing Director of Kulturprojekte Berlin Moritz van Duelmen and the State of Berlin’s Olympic Commissioner Kaweh Niroomand attend a press conference following the Senate meeting to present the city’s bid for the Olympics. Annette Riedl/dpa

The Berlin senate has unanimously endorsed the plans for a potential Olympic bid presented by Mayor Kai Wegner on Tuesday.

The Berlin+ concept, presented by Wegner and Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger to support a bid to host the Summer Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044, assumes that 97% of all sports venues required for the competitions are already built.

Spranger estimated the cost of organizing the Games at €4.82 billion $5.64 billion). In contrast, revenue of €5.24 billion is expected, meaning that a profit of around €420 million would be generated "for Berlin's schools and grassroots sports," Spranger said in a news conference.

"We are convinced that hosting the Games in Berlin would be a win far beyond the realm of sports," Wegner said.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games can provide a major boost to our city and showcase Germany as a modern and reliable host," he added.

The city also plans to build an Olympic route, which will run from the Olympic stadium in the west to the Tempelhofer Feld, a former airport turned into park in the south, which is to host the opening ceremony.

"The Olympic route will serve as a visible symbol of the connection between sports, culture, and urban society," said Moritz van Dülmen, managing director for culture projects in the city.

Berlin is one of four candidates in the domestic preliminary selection process to choose Germany's Olympic host. Its competitors are Munich, Hamburg, and the Rhine-Ruhr region, centred on Cologne.