European Championships: Does Munich show the German way to the Olympics?

Well-stocked sports facilities, a rousing atmosphere, enthusiastic athletes: the European Championships in Munich with nine title fights in eleven days have awakened the desire for the Olympic Games in many places in Germany.

At official level, however, the euphoria is not enough to dare to try again after numerous unsuccessful applications – especially since there has been no clear signal from federal politicians so far.

Only Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior and Sports, Joachim Herrmann, explained: “The phenomenal atmosphere, the enthusiasm and the successful, sustainable organization for the European Championships are encouragement and an incentive for further competitions of this kind.” The CSU politician did not use the word Olympia either.

DOSB President reserved

For DOSB boss Thomas Weikert, the championships are a building block for a new application. “I think you can also host the Olympic Games without being gigantic. Here is a very good event with nine sports and you can see that you can build on it,” said the official of the sports show.

“I think we have to leave the church in the village a bit. I don’t want to say that I wouldn’t like to have the Olympics in Germany – that would be totally awesome. But I think that other things have to be clarified first and maybe some goals too have to be formulated,” said beach volleyball player Karla Borger, who is also President of the Athletes Germany Association. It would be better to take this momentum with you to the clubs, to the youngsters. “That doesn’t mean that this sport has now arrived in society and is accepted because once the hut is full – and that shouldn’t sound disrespectful.”

Huge public interest in Munich

At times, the organizers had trouble controlling the crowds in the historic Olympic Park. “It was of course due to the positive response. But we didn’t expect the Olympic Park to have to close at all,” said Tobias Kohler, Head of Communications at Olympiapark GmbH, the “Rheinische Post”. 9000 people cheered the golden exercises of Emma Malewski and Elisabeth Seitz in the sold-out Olympic Hall. 5000 fans celebrated a party on the Königsplatz when climbing. According to official figures, 110,000 people cheered on the cyclists in the road race, while the narrow 1,700 seats in the track cycle oval were occupied on all decision days.

“It was really cool, it was really fun. You cross the finish line and when you win, people are happy, they stand there and call out the name, German flags – I got goosebumps every time,” said the track cycling world champion Emma Hinze, one of Munich’s German stars with three titles. “Probably the best atmosphere I’ve ever climbed in,” said Czech scene star Adam Ondra, who won bronze in bouldering and gold in lead.

Richard Ringer, who won the marathon at the start of the track and field title fights, revealed himself, like other German athletes, to be a fan of the European Championships. “At the European Games you can see how the concept works when you don’t have that many sports together. It’s a huge event, it’s super great,” said the Rehlinger of the dpa, but also pointed out: “Olympic Games in today’s world, that’s really enormous.” You have to think about why hardly anyone does it, added the 33-year-old.

Failed Olympic bids

Seven failed applications since the Olympic Games in Munich 50 years ago have not discouraged the German sports leadership, but have made them cautious. Most recently, the lack of approval among the population was the main reason why a German Olympic candidacy failed – not least because of the enormous costs that taxpayers face. Even the multi-EM event in Munich devours around 100 million euros, which is also largely covered by the public purse.

Monika Schöne, Managing Director of the Olympic Park, described the major event on Deutschlandfunk as “not lucrative”. The event is financed through ticketing and sponsorship, “but the biggest chunk ultimately comes from the public sponsors.” The more tickets are sold, the lower the subsidy will be.

“The European Championships are actually a kind of milestone for other major events here in Germany, because you just had to regain the public’s trust that such major events are possible, that people are also there and that’s exactly what we convey want,” said Schöne on Bayerischer Rundfunk.

DOSB boss Thomas Weikert announced that the umbrella organization would deal with the topic of the Olympics. A possible process for an Olympic bid is to be presented at the DOSB general meeting in December. “But that doesn’t mean that we apply directly,” said Weikert. Instead, there should be a transparent and open-ended discussion with everyone involved and those affected, “whether and under what conditions Germany’s renewed application makes sense at all. Or not,” Weikert told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. The gigantism of the recent past is out, but sustainability is in. In the meantime, even the last one has recognized “that there is no need for mega-grand buildings in which weeds grow rampant a few years later”.

Alliance NOlympia still skeptical

Despite the euphoria in Munich, the NOlympia alliance sees no basis for the Olympic Games in Germany. “The framework conditions have not changed since the last applications: The IOC (International Olympic Committee) is still the same, including gag contracts that pass on the financial risks to the venues according to the motto “We keep the profits, the others bear the losses”” , said NOlympics spokeswoman Katharina Schulze of the dpa. In addition, the IOC is running a massive commercialization of the games. In contrast, the European Championships stand for a concept that dispenses with gigantomania, the competitions fit well into the city, according to Schulze.