Munich has been selected as Germany’s official candidate to bid for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044, giving the Bavarian capital a chance to bring the world’s biggest multi-sport event back to Germany for the first time since 1972.

The decision was made Saturday by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) in Baden-Baden. Munich defeated the remaining rival, the Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr region, after Berlin withdrew from the process earlier this week.

Munich’s proposal is built around its existing Olympic infrastructure, particularly the Olympic Park constructed for the 1972 Games. The bid emphasizes the use of existing venues rather than creating a large number of new facilities. According to the DOSB evaluation, Munich received 87.03 points out of 100, compared with 85.02 for Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr.

Public support has also become an important part of Munich’s case. In a city referendum in October 2025, 66.4% of participating voters supported pursuing an Olympic bid, with turnout reaching 42%. Munich therefore enters the national competition with a documented local mandate for the project.

The proposal is not limited to Bavaria. Munich has partnered with Kiel, in northern Germany, as the proposed sailing venue. The partnership revives a connection dating back to the 1972 Olympics, when Kiel also hosted sailing events.

The timing could be particularly significant. Germany is considering three possible Olympic years: 2036, 2040 and 2044. The 2036 Games would take place 100 years after the 1936 Berlin Olympics, giving the potential German bid an unusually significant historical context. A 2040 Games would coincide with the 50th anniversary of German reunification.

But Munich has not won the Olympics yet.

Germany must first present its candidature to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has said that the host for the 2036 Games is expected to be selected in 2029, with the formal competitive process scheduled to restart in 2027. More than 10 cities or countries have previously expressed interest, including India, Indonesia, South Africa, Chile, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

That means Munich’s victory on Saturday is a national milestone, not the final decision.

Germany’s previous Summer Olympics were held in Munich in 1972. Those Games remain deeply associated with the terrorist attack in which members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and killed.

More than five decades later, Munich now wants to present a very different Olympic model: existing infrastructure, sustainability, regional cooperation and public support.

The next question is no longer which German city should bid.

It is whether Munich can turn Germany’s national bid into an Olympic Games.