The northern port city of Hamburg "was picked on Monday as the country's preferred choice for a 2024 summer Olympics bid ahead of Berlin, with the German Olympic Sports Confederation's (DOSB) members to ratify the proposal later this week," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The DOSB board "opted for Olympic newcomers Hamburg instead of Berlin, who hosted the Games in 1936, after an all-day meeting on Monday and following polls last week that showed Hamburg citizens were more in favor of the Games (64 percent) than the capital's residents (55 percent)." But it was also Germany's 33 top sports federations that gave a majority to Hamburg, "with 18 in favor of the port city and 11 for the capital." Four federations "voted for both cities." DOSB Chair Alfons Hörmann said that "the experts, who briefed the board after the cities' presentations, helped swing the board's votes in favor of Hamburg." He said, "It was not an easy choice. Without naming all the reasons ... the poll was an important role, the vote of the sports federations, and thirdly today's experts' round of discussion." The DOSB members "are expected to ratify the decision on March 21." Boston and Rome "have already officially launched their candidacy with several more cities, including Paris, Doha, Istanbul and Baku, seen as possible contenders until the Sept. 15 deadline" (REUTERS, 3/16).
