Hamburg withdraws Olympics bid after referendum defeat

 Hamburg has withdrawn from the race to host the Summer Olympics in either 2036, 2040 or 2044 after residents rejected the idea at a referendum on Sunday.

Hamburg was one of four cities or regions bidding to be selected by the German Olympic Federation (DOSB) to host the Games, alongside Berlin, Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region.

City officials had hoped to illustrate public support with a positive result. With 98 percent of ballots counted, 55 percent of voters rejected the idea, compared with 45 percent in favour.

Almost 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot in the referendum.

This is the second time in just over a decade Hamburg voters decided against hosting the Olympics. In 2015, 51.4 percent of voters rejected a proposal to host the 2024 Games.

After the results came through, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher confirmed he had informed the DOSB and the IOC that the bid would be withdrawn.

"Many citizens who were looking forward to the Games are disappointed by the outcome of the referendum," Tschentscher said in a statement.

"I, too, deeply regret the result of the vote, but I wish to thank everyone who supported the goal of bringing the Games to Hamburg."

In September, the DOSB will decide which of the three remaining cities or regions should be put forth to the IOC as a potential host.

At a referendum in October 2025, Munich voters strongly indicated their support to host the Games in the Bavarian capital, with 66.4 percent voting in favour. In Munich, 42 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot.

In April, 66 percent of voters in the Rhine-Ruhr region voted in favour of a bid, with 33 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot.

The northern city of Kiel, which hopes to host sailing events as part of the successful German bid, had 63.5 percent of voters supporting the proposal.

Berlin will not hold a vote.

Munich, then part of West Germany, was the last German city to host the Summer Games, in 1972. Berlin was host in 1936.