Hamburg calls on citizens to help shape the Olympic bid!

Hamburg calls on citizens to help shape the Olympic bid!

Hamburg is in excitement! The city is planning citizen participation in a possible bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Under the motto “Join in, get involved” the population is actively involved in the process. An online participation portal will soon be launched, offering all Hamburg residents the opportunity to access information, submit suggestions and fill out surveys until December 12th. How NDR reported, a referendum on the Olympic bid will take place on May 31, 2026, in which the Hamburg population will be able to vote on official entry into the international bid process.

The starting signal for the participatory activities will be given on November 1st with a big kick-off event in HafenCity. From 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., an exciting program of workshops, lectures and hands-on activities awaits visitors. Beach volleyball silver medalists such as Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers as well as Paralympic champion Edina Müller will report on their experiences at the Games in Paris 2024. The well-known duo Anke Harnack and Michel Abdollahi will be moderating, while the “Hamburger Goldkehlchen” will provide the musical accompaniment. In the following weeks, numerous dialogue evenings will take place in all districts to offer citizens a platform to get involved.

Dates of the events

Here are the dates for the upcoming citizen participation events that promote the Hamburg population's right to have a say:

• Wandsbek: Forum Alstertal, 3.11., 18 Uhr
• Bergedorf: Haus im Park, 4.11., 18 Uhr
• Harburg: Feuervogel, 12.11., 18 Uhr
• Hamburg-Nord: Goldbekhaus, 17.11., 18 Uhr
• Eimsbüttel: MUT! Theater, 18.11., 18 Uhr
• Altona: Bürgerhaus Bornheide, 20.11., 18 Uhr
• Hamburg-Mitte: Cafeteria Stadtteilschule am Hafen, Neustadt, 27.11., 18 Uhr

Sports Senator Andy Grote emphasizes how important it is that the Olympic bid is designed together by the population. Steffen Rülke, head of the Hamburg application, also calls on all citizens to take part. “Our goal is an application that suits Hamburg and creates real added value for the city,” says Rülke. Meanwhile, Hamburg is pursuing the most transparent Olympic path in Germany and will incorporate the results from the analog and digital formats into the final application concept.

Olympic visions and challenges

What's going on in other cities in the meantime? Munich is currently also planning to apply for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and not without controversy. Around 1.1 million citizens are invited to vote on the application. Proponents argue that the Olympics could lead to important projects such as urban development and local transport expansion. However, there is also a lot of discussion behind the scenes, especially from opponents who warn of negative consequences such as surface sealing, a topic that is not entirely unheard of in Hamburg either. There has already been opposition to the Olympic bid in cities such as Berlin and the Rhine-Ruhr region, where similar concerns have been expressed daily news reported.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how citizen participation will develop in Hamburg. It is clear that the Olympic bid could represent another example of cooperation between the city administration and citizens. However, the biggest question remains: How will the people of Hamburg vote in the referendum in May 2026? Time to dress warmly for an exciting sports debate!