In recent public votes in North Rhine-Westphalia and Kiel, a clear majority of citizens supported the application for the Olympic and Paralympic Games under the “Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr” project. The Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), reported that overall support reached approximately two-thirds of the votes.
Roughly 1.4 million people participated in the voting. Notably high approval rates were recorded in Aachen at 76.3%, Mönchengladbach at 74.4%, and Gelsenkirchen at 74.2%. Furthermore, larger cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Essen also showed clear support. In Kiel, where sailing competitions are slated to take place, Sunday’s public vote saw 63.5% voting in favor and 36.5% voting against.
The “Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr” project is one of four German candidates vying for the Olympic Games. A successful public vote for the Games already took place in Munich, and a referendum is scheduled for May 31st in Hamburg. Berlin does not have a mandated public vote. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will make the final decision regarding the German Olympic candidate on September 26th.