Berlin to unveil Olympic Games concept

[August 26, 2014]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin, which last hosted the Olympics in 1936, will unveil its concept for the 2024 Games on Sept. 1 and will follow up with a city referendum as Germany has still to decide on a bid between Hamburg and the capital for those Games or 2028.

"We will answer the questionnaire of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and then we will unveil our concept on Sept. 1," outgoing Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit told reporters on Tuesday.

"I am confident we will answer those questions well.

"After that there will be a vote for all Berliners to decide. We want the widest possible support in this."

The International Olympic Committee, which has seen low public support for some of the 2022 winter Games candidates, is eager to ensure future bidders having local citizens on their side to ensure smooth preparations and enthusiasm during the world's biggest multi-sports event.

The DOSB has yet to set a deadline for a decision on which German city will be put forward for the summer Games in 10 years or if it is going to go ahead with a candidacy for the 2028 Olympics.

Bidding for the 2024 Games starts in 2015 with a decision to be made in 2017.

No city has officially announced a bid yet but several, including Los Angeles and Boston from the United States as well as Paris, Istanbul, Qatar's Doha and Durban in South Africa, are among potential candidates.

The 2016 Olympics will be held in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 summer Games in Tokyo. Berlin last hosted the Olympics in Nazi-ruled Germany in 1936 and its Games stadium is still in full operation today.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

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