12/02/2025December 2, 2025Cologne to be central in Rhine-Ruhr region’s Olympic bid — NRW state premier
The western city of Cologne, Germany’s third-largest in terms of population, will play the leading role in the Rhine-Ruhr region’s bid to host the Olympics in 2036, 2040 or 2044, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state premier Hendrik Wüst said on Tuesday.
Wüst made his remarks after meeting with representatives of the municipalities involved in the bid in Düsseldorf, the state capital.
“We are offering Germany and the world the most compact, sustainable and spectacular Olympic Games. The strongest bid for the Olympic Games comes from us,” he said.
“At the moment, we assume that we will be able to offer around 14 million tickets. An absolute record,” Wüst said.
Among other things, the athletics stadium would be built in Cologne as a temporary facility, parts of which will later be used for other purposes.
Wüst said the Olympic Village — which would offer accommodation for around 95% of athletes — would also be located in Cologne.
Other sports venues would be spread across other municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The German Olympics body, DOSB, plans to decide in the third quarter of 2026 which city or region will bid and for which Summer Games, with Berlin, Hamburg and Munich also in the running.
North Rhine-Westphalia is to hold a referendum on April 19 on whether its Rhine-Ruhr region should move forward with the bid, after Munich residents recently voted in favor.