Copenhagen mayor proposes Danish/German bid for Summer Olympics

Frank Jensen wants to co-host the games with Hamburg

May 26, 2014

Frank Jensen, the lord mayor of Copenhagen, would like to see the 2024 Summer Olympic Games be held jointly by Copenhagen and Hamburg in Germany.

Jensen made his pitch last week at a conference held by the Danish-German Chamber of Commerce.

“Co-operation between the two cities is the only way that democratic states like Germany and Denmark can pull off a mega-project like the Olympic Games,” Jensen told the group.

Hamburg’s city government recently commissioned a cost/risk study regarding hosting the games, after 65 percent of its citizens expressed support for the idea in a referendum held earlier this month. The German capital of Berlin has also been mentioned as a possible contender to host the games.

The link
Should Jensen’s dream become a reality, the Fehmarn link now being constructed between Denmark and Germany would reduce the travel time between the two cities to less than three hours. The 18km link between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

A joint summer games would require a change in the Olympic charter. Currently, only the winter edition can be held in two separate countries, and then only if there are geographical or topographical reasons for a joint-hosting.

Rome, Paris and several American cities are also considering bids to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.