On the last day of the European Championships, the sun came out again, so the city was able to show itself and its Olympic Park in the best light. The fact that it had rained heavily on the days before could not really spoil the beautiful picture; but maybe the rain hadn’t been bad enough to cool things down a bit. At the beginning of the eleven-day event, (sports) politicians and officials were already running hot for a new German Olympic bid, preferably from Munich. Now the realization seems to have prevailed that the enthusiasm for a multi-sport event with nine European championships cannot simply be transferred to the Olympic Games three times as big and a hundred times as expensive.
At the end of the European Championships, the political representatives of the city, state and federal government dealt with the topic of the Olympics in a remarkably defensive manner. Her tenor: An application is not ruled out, but it is not urgent either. Or as the beach volleyball player Karla Borger, the critical president of the Athleten Deutschland association, put it: “The desire to go to the Olympics is already there, but I don’t know if that’s not too big at the moment.”
What is big and good enough for athletes, spectators and visitors is the format of the European Championships – a manageable number of title fights in various sports, embedded in a festival with culture and music, with partly free entry, so that everyone can enjoy it have, even those who cannot afford expensive tickets. If it is up to athlete spokeswoman Borger, that would be a model for the future.
It is also something that can be used to enliven the Munich Olympic Park, certainly not every year, but at shorter intervals than every anniversary to commemorate the 1972 Olympics. A number of athletes have said they would like to come back, they raved about the flair of the Olympic Park, of the Olympic Stadium, which thanks to its acoustics creates an inspiring atmosphere even when it is only half full. Such an ensemble must be able to be used more frequently.
In the Olympic Park there is the action sports festival Munich Mash; that can be expanded. It is possible that the concept of the “Finals” can also be imported from Berlin: a multi-sport event made up of a dozen German championships that are held over a long weekend. Creativity knows no bounds. The Olympic Park stage is set, but it is also up to the sports associations to want to use it.