Berlin presented a detailed Olympic plan: BERLIN+ enters the final German review for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Games
Berlin has taken one of the most important steps in the national race for Germany's candidacy for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to the announcement by the Berlin Senate Chancellery, the city authorities on Friday, June 19, 2026, hosted 35 representatives of top sports federations gathered in the German Olympic Sports Confederation, the DOSB, and handed them a detailed concept entitled "Deutschland gewinnt mit BERLIN+". That document does not mean that Berlin is already the German candidate before the International Olympic Committee, but rather that it is entering the final national assessment in which the political, sporting, financial and international feasibility of the project is being measured. The bid relates to the possible hosting of the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044, without Germany being obliged at this stage to commit to only one date. The DOSB is expected to make the final decision on the German candidate on September 26, 2026, at an extraordinary assembly in Baden-Baden, after the evaluation of all remaining national projects.
A concept that Berlin does not present as a solo project
The central message of the BERLIN+ project is that the Games would not rely only on Germany's capital, but on a wider network of partner federal states. According to the Berlin Senate Chancellery and the official candidacy website, Berlin is acting together with Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony, thereby seeking to show that a major sporting competition can be distributed across several already existing locations. Such a model should reduce the need for new construction, relieve urban logistics and allow part of the sporting and economic impact to extend beyond a single metropolis. Official communication particularly emphasizes that the heart of the Games would be in Berlin, but that individual competitions would also be organized in the partner regions, depending on the sport and existing facilities. According to a dpa report carried by Die Zeit, the plan mentions, among other things, the Beetzsee regatta course and a golf location in Bad Saarow in Brandenburg, Leipzig and Markleeberg in Saxony, and Rostock-Warnemünde as the sailing location in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
At the same time, Berlin is trying to present the candidacy as a project that fits into the newer philosophy of Olympic hosting, in which cities are no longer expected to build expensive and permanently underused venues solely for the needs of several weeks of competition. According to the Senate Chancellery, more than 97 percent of the competition venues in the Berlin concept already exist or would be temporarily set up. That figure is key to the argument by which BERLIN+ differs from traditional Olympic projects marked by major infrastructure interventions and long-term maintenance costs. In a political sense, Berlin is thereby trying to combine the city's international recognizability, experience in organizing major events and the need for a more sustainable hosting model. In a sporting sense, reliance on existing facilities should show the DOSB that the project is feasible without excessive expansion of construction obligations.
What was presented to the DOSB federations
The handover of the detailed concept to the sports federations was more than a protocol event. According to the announcement by the Senate Chancellery, numerous sports federations had participated in the development of plans in previous months and provided expert proposals regarding the needs of individual disciplines, the competition schedule and operational requirements. After the reception in the Red City Hall, federation representatives moved to the Olympic Stadium, where the presentation of the BERLIN+ concept and the symbolic handover of the document took place. Berlin officials emphasized that they want Games that connect sustainability, inclusion, social cohesion and sporting excellence. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner stated, according to the Senate Chancellery, that Berlin wants to host the "next generation" of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, while Senator for the Interior and Sport Iris Spranger emphasized that the plan is based on openness, inclusiveness and a lasting impact for the city.
Former Berlin mayors, members of the candidacy board of trustees and athletes who support the project also took part in the ceremonial part of the event. The Senate Chancellery states that the candidacy ambassadors included Olympic and Paralympic winners, including Natascha Keller, Ronald Rauhe, Elena Semechin and Kristina Vogel. In this way, the Berlin administration sought to show that the project has not only an administrative dimension, but also the support of part of the sporting environment. However, the handover of the document to the federations also has a very practical function: German sport, through the DOSB and its member organizations, must assess whether the proposed model can meet the requirements of an international competition of the highest level. In the final phase of the national process, not only the attractiveness of the city will be assessed, but also the quality of the plan for athletes, spectators, transport, security, financing and legacy.
Reliance on existing infrastructure and urban space
One of the most recognizable ideas in the Berlin plan is the so-called Host City program, conceived as a connection between sport, culture and public space. According to the Senate Chancellery, the central element would be an Olympic parcours, that is, an urban axis that would lead from the Olympic Stadium through central Berlin to Tempelhofer Feld. That space should serve not only as a logistical route, but also as a public stage for fans, cultural programs, ceremonies and encounters between citizens and the Olympic event. According to an earlier announcement by the Senate, the visual concept also mentions a symbolic construction at the Brandenburg Gate, with the idea that medals would be awarded in front of one of Berlin's best-known urban scenes. Tempelhofer Feld, the area of the former airport that is today a large open urban area, is listed in the concept as a place intended for a major ceremonial and public experience.
Such an approach reflects a broader strategy in which Berlin wants to bring competitions and accompanying content closer to everyday urban life. According to the official candidacy website, BERLIN+ is presented as a "joint" and "sustainable" bid that connects existing sports venues, public spaces and partners from several federal states. The candidacy planners claim that investments would be directed into areas that remain useful in the long term, including sports infrastructure, mobility, accessibility and urban development. At the same time, such a concept also carries operational challenges, because a schedule across several cities and federal states requires precise coordination of transport, accommodation, security and television production. These very issues will be important in the DOSB's assessment, because the international competitiveness of the bid is measured not only by political ambition, but also by the ability to implement a complex plan without excessive risks.
The financial framework remains one of the main topics
Finances are one of the most sensitive parts of every Olympic bid, and Berlin is no exception. According to a dpa report published by the official portal Berlin.de, Senator Iris Spranger estimated the cost of organizing the Games at 4.82 billion euros, while expected revenues are stated at 5.24 billion euros. In that scenario, according to the same report, a surplus of about 420 million euros would remain and would be directed toward schools and sport for the wider population. According to the dpa report carried by Die Zeit, in addition to the organizational budget, an infrastructure framework of about 1.6 billion euros is also mentioned, while the security budget had not been finalized at the time of presentation. Because of such open items, critics of Olympic projects regularly demand additional checks, because the experience of previous hosts shows that the biggest financial risks often do not appear in the initial presentations.
Berlin officials claim that the financial framework is transparent and includes reserves, but the political debate is not over. According to the dpa report, part of the opposition in Berlin, especially from the ranks of the Greens and The Left, warns of the lack of a referendum, the condition of part of the sports infrastructure and the possibility that public money could be directed into a project with uncertain final costs. Such criticism is not unusual in Olympic debates, especially in European cities where, in recent years, citizens have often rejected new candidacies in referendums. The Berlin Senate, on the other hand, claims that precisely because of existing sports facilities, temporary solutions and regional distribution, the scenario of excessive construction can be avoided. The DOSB will therefore, in its financial review, have to weigh not only the official figures, but also the resilience of the plan to inflation, changes in security requirements, transport needs and possible delays in infrastructure projects.
The German national race changed after Hamburg
Berlin's candidacy is taking place within a broader German selection process that gained new momentum during 2026. Earlier in the procedure, the DOSB considered four projects: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region with Cologne as its center. According to the official DOSB website, the German sports confederation is conducting a multi-phase procedure in which international competitiveness, national acceptance, sporting-operational suitability, vision and legacy, as well as costs and financing, are assessed. However, after the referendum on May 31, 2026, Hamburg practically dropped out of the race, because according to the announcement by the Hamburg Parliament, 54.9 percent of voters voted against continuing the bid, while 45.1 percent were in favor. Thus Berlin, Munich and Rhine-Ruhr remained in the final political and expert comparison, although the formal course of the DOSB assessment remains tied to the documents and decisions adopted in the national process.
For Berlin, the Hamburg result is at the same time a warning and an opportunity. It is a warning because it shows that the Olympic idea in German cities cannot count on automatic public support, especially when questions of costs, housing, transport and long-term benefits are opened. It is an opportunity because, with the reduction in the number of competitors, the national comparison focuses on the three remaining models, with Berlin seeking to highlight its international recognizability, existing sports infrastructure and the symbolism of a city that connects history, divisions and reunification. According to its own announcement, the DOSB has provided for an evaluation commission and a matrix for the final decision, intended to enable a transparent, democratic and verifiable decision. That decision will be politically important for Germany, but also operationally crucial, because only one project can move into international communication with the IOC as the national candidate.
International framework: the IOC is changing the rules for hosts
Germany's selection of a candidate is taking place at a time when the International Olympic Committee is also changing the way future hosts are chosen. According to the IOC announcement of June 25, 2026, the 146th Session of that organization in Lausanne supported reforms of the procedure for future hosting, including an additional transitional phase and a plan for the host of the 2036 Games to be chosen in 2029. This means that the German candidate, even if selected in September 2026, will not immediately enter the final international decision, but rather a longer process of dialogue, checks and comparison with other interested countries and cities. According to the DOSB, Germany does not have to choose the exact year at this stage, but needs to be ready for the moment when Europe has a realistic opportunity in the international schedule. This flexibility explains why the Berlin document simultaneously lists the years 2036, 2040 and 2044.
The IOC reform is also important because it emphasizes issues of sustainability, the use of existing and temporary locations, and long-term benefits for the community. Berlin builds the main narrative of its bid precisely on these elements. However, international competition for the 2036 Games is already broad, and interest has also been shown in various forms by countries outside Europe, which places the German project under strict comparison. For the DOSB, the question will therefore be twofold: which German city or region has the best national plan and which project has the greatest chances in the changed international procedure. Berlin's latest step, handing over the detailed concept to the sports federations, shows that the city wants to enter that debate with more complete documentation, but also that the final judgment on the project will depend on the verification of figures, public acceptance and the persuasiveness of the promised Olympic legacy.
What follows until the DOSB decision
Until the DOSB's September decision, Berlin's candidacy must go through a phase in which political messages will be transformed into comparable criteria. According to the DOSB, the final concepts are assessed through several categories, and the review of costs and financing is led by a working group in which the DOSB and the competent federal bodies participate. The sports federations have particular weight in this process because they can assess whether the planned locations, capacities, athlete accommodation and operational conditions are realistic for the Olympic and Paralympic format. In this procedure, Berlin will emphasize existing stadiums, experience in organizing major events and the partner network of federal states. Conversely, critics will continue to demand clearer answers on public participation, security costs, housing and the real long-term value of the promised investments.
For the global sports public, the most important thing is that the German debate is not yet an international candidacy in the full sense, but a national selection of a project that could only later represent Germany. By handing over the detailed concept "Deutschland gewinnt mit BERLIN+", Berlin has shown that it wants to be that candidate and that it sees its advantage in the combination of Olympic symbolism, existing infrastructure and regional partnership. On September 26, 2026, the DOSB will have to decide which of the remaining models best meets Germany's sporting needs and the IOC's international expectations. If Berlin is chosen, only then will it face a much longer and more demanding path toward the IOC, in which every claim about sustainability, costs and legacy will have to be proven beyond the national political framework. Until then, BERLIN+ remains an ambitious plan in the final German review, with a clear message that it wants to build the Games on what already exists, and not on the promise of new Olympic construction.
Sources:
- Berlin Senate Chancellery – announcement on the handover of the detailed concept "Deutschland gewinnt mit BERLIN+" to representatives of the DOSB sports federations (link)
- Berlin Senate Chancellery – Senate decision on the BERLIN+ concept and description of the main elements of the candidacy (link)
- Berlin.de / dpa – report on the financial framework, existing sports venues and DOSB decision (link)
- DOSB – official page on the German Olympic bid procedure and possible dates of the Games (link)
- DOSB – assembly decision on the final national procedure, evaluation matrix and decision in Baden-Baden (link)
- Hamburg Parliament – official result of the referendum by which Hamburg rejected continuing the Olympic bid (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement on the reform of the host selection procedure and the planned selection of the host of the 2036 Games in 2029 (link)
- Die Zeit / dpa – report on the presentation of the BERLIN+ concept, budget items and planned partner locations (link)