The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) said that Berlin's potential 2024 Olympic bid "could be the wrong financial decision with the city deep in debt and lacking the infrastructure to host such a global event," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Berlin and Hamburg "are battling for the green light from the German sports authorities to launch a bid for the 2024 summer Olympics." DIW's Karl Brenke said that the German capital, though, "should think twice about launching such a candidacy." He said that "history had shown initial estimates for the Games compared to what they end up costing were never the same while budgets only include the cost for the duration of the Games." Brenke: "Costs that are Games-related and come up after the Olympics are systematically blended out. From the figures we have so far there is very little information about what they will actually cost for Berlin." Berlin officials "have not provided a specific figure yet" but some estimates put the projected cost at about €2.5B ($2.83B), roughly the same as past Games. Brenke said, "The state of Berlin has at the moment a debt of €65 billion ($73.6B). I have the feeling that Berlin is sliding into something it may not be able to lift" (REUTERS, 2/11).
