The Olympics on the Rhine and Ruhr:
The journey itself is the destination
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Photo: LSB NRW/ Andrea Bowinkelmann
The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in North Rhine-Westphalia are set to be compact, spectacular and sustainable. More than 50 years after the last Olympic flame went out on German soil, no fewer than four candidate regions have set out to bring the world’s most important sporting event back to Germany. Among them is NRW, with the Rhine-Ruhr region and Cologne as the leading city. Sport, at both grassroots and elite levels, is already benefiting from this.
The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in North Rhine-Westphalia are set to be compact, spectacular and sustainable. More than 50 years after the last Olympic flame went out on German soil, no fewer than four candidate regions have set out to bring the world’s most important sporting event back to Germany. Among them is NRW, with the Rhine-Ruhr region and Cologne as the leading city. Sport, at both grassroots and elite levels, is already benefiting from this.
And this is despite the fact that the process is still in its early stages. It is not until the autumn that the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will decide, at an extraordinary general meeting, which of the four candidates will represent Germany internationally. Alongside Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are also in the running. Following this national decision, the task will be to prevail against potential international rivals such as Istanbul, Budapest or even Santiago de Chile. Whether the Games in question are those of 2036, 2040 or 2044, even that will only be decided much later by the IOC.
Photo: LSB NRW/ Andrea Bowinkelmann
One billion euros for sport in NRW
But as is so often the case, the journey is the destination here too. Or at least part of it. Because the momentum expected from the Olympics begins to unfold in part even with the bid itself. And the sport sector in NRW is noticing this. For example, the state has launched a coaching initiative, specifically in the context of CologneRhineRuhr, to fund the training of thousands of new coaches and trainers at grassroots level. After all, it is they who discover and nurture future talent.
“No other state is investing more, more broadly and more sustainably years,” says Minister-President Hendrik Wüst. 600 million euros, for example, have been earmarked in the current budget for the renovation of sports facilities. Furthermore, the employment conditions for coaches in youth development have been significantly improved, and the bonuses for Olympic participants and medallists have been substantially increased.
The Olympics have positive impacts
The fact that the Olympics have a positive impact is nothing new. The 1972 Games were a real boost for sports science departments at German universities. In the run-up to the Paris Games, French schools introduced the daily exercise session “30 minutes d'activité physique quotidienne”. Added to this are economic benefits and international attention. In Barcelona, the host city of the 1992 Games, the number of overnight stays has since multiplied. And, apart from a dip caused by the pandemic, this has been a lasting trend..
North Rhine-Westphalia aims to win support with a comprehensive bid. In addition to the fully equal inclusion of para-sport, the bid focuses primarily on
- the region’s central location
- its experience in hosting major sporting events
- its unrivalled range of sports facilities
In recent years, dozens of World and European Championships have been held in NRW; the state boasts some of Europe’s largest indoor arenas, numerous football stadiums and internationally renowned sports venues such as the Soers in Aachen and the Duisburg rowing course. All of this is situated right in the heart of Europe and in close proximity to one another. This ensures short travel distances and packed stands. For the competitions, 100 per cent of existing and temporary sports venues are to be utilised.
The Olympic and Paralympic Village is to be built, for example, with the athletics stadium at its heart in the north of Cologne, on a site where a new district has long been planned. After the Games, the athletes’ accommodation will be converted into much-needed housing. From the outset, the stadium has been designed so that it can be further developed into a residential and commercial centre using modular extensions. With flats, offices, retail outlets and nurseries. And a park in place of the competition area in the centre.
There is also a sustainable solution for the swimming stadium, which is currently still missing and needs sufficient capacity: the Schalke football arena could be transformed into an Aquatics Dome with a temporary pool. Swimming events would then take place in front of up to 60,000 fans. 18,000 could attend the gymnastics events at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, 50,000 at the handball, volleyball and basketball matches at the Düsseldorf Arena, and 40,000 at the equestrian events in Aachen.
Together with the Paralympics, which will take place at the same venues, around 14 million tickets could be sold. This would mean the Games on the Rhine and Ruhr would have their first record in the bag, even before the starting gun is fired.
