Olympic hosting a long-term subject, says German sport chief

Frankfurt (dpa) - Germany will be unable to host an Olympic Games inside the next decade but the subject will not remain closed, a leading official has said.

"The overall topic of a potential bid has rather a mid- or long-term character," German Olympic Sport Federation (DOSB) president Alfon Hoermann told dpa.

After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the double award of summer Games to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 last month, there is plenty of time to consider the next move.

"There is so far only concrete the known discussions in the Rhine-Ruhr region," Hoermann said. "We will see whether a promising concept there or elsewhere and the courage to make an official bid is found."

As for the Winter Games, the earliest they could come to Germany would be 2030.

"In the are of Winter, we have not had any more discussions after the failure of Munich (against Pyeongchang in 2018 and in a local referendum for 2022)," he said.

While "this also could become a topic again," Hoermann said after Tyrol, in neighbouring Austria, also fell at a referendum he was not aware of anyone actively fighting for the Winter Games to come to Germany in 2026.

Germany has twice hosted the summer Games, 1936 in Berlin and 1972 in in Munich. The Winter Games were in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.