Olympic vote: Thank you for your "YES", Aachen!
A clear result: 76.29 percent voted for an Olympic bid in Aachen - with this high proportion of YES votes, our city is the leader in NRW.
67,559 people took part in the referendum.
On September 26, the German Olympic Sports Confederation will hold a general meeting to decide who will be the German candidate (Munich, Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr) for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games.
Aachen can do the Olympics
Under the slogan "Our cities. Our Games.", 17 cities on the Rhine and Ruhr are bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. Thanks to the unique local infrastructure, soccer and equestrian sports are to be held in Aachen. Internationally renowned as a stronghold of equestrian sport, the CHIO and the World Equestrian Games show that the imperial city is a stage for world sport. But Aachen also lives sport in the stands - our Tivoli stands for passionate, emotional soccer and a rousing atmosphere far beyond the city and state borders. With first-class sports facilities and decades of experience in hosting major events, Aachen is ideally placed to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Sport moves people, hearts and entire cities. Aachen stands for top sporting performance like almost no other city.
NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst
Lord Mayor Michael Ziemons
Equestrian icon Isabell Werth
ALRV President Stefanie Peters
IHK Managing Director Michael F. Bayer
HWK President Marco Herwartz
The most compact, sustainable and spectacular games
North Rhine-Westphalia offers athletes the biggest stage for the greatest moment of their careers. Millions of guests could make a pilgrimage to the packed stadiums in the future and we, as cosmopolitan and sport-loving hosts, will give them a warm welcome.
Aachen is already benefiting from this today: investments are flowing, sports facilities are being modernized, mobility and accessibility are being considered further, and exercise is being promoted in schools and daycare centers. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are accelerating necessary development projects.
Most sports venues in NRW are within 40 km or 60 minutes' drive. Around 95% of the athletes live in the joint Olympic and Paralympic Village. With around 14 million tickets sold throughout NRW, a record number of spectators for the Olympics would be broken. More information: https://olympiabewerbung.nrw/
"Yes, Aachen can do it. We support that!"
Initiative of public decision-makers in Aachen:
Carl Meulenbergh (Former District Administrator and Honorary Chairman of the ALRV) - Initiator
Dr. Jürgen Linden (Oberbürgermeister d.D. und Ehrenbürger der Stadt Aachen) - Initiator
Former Minister President Armin Laschet (MdB)
Marcel Philipp (former Lord Mayor)
Claudia Moll (Member of the Bundestag)
Lukas Benner (Member of the Bundestag)
Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament)
Annika Fohn (Member of the State Parliament)
Stefan Kämmerling (Member of the State Parliament)
Astrid Vogelheim (Member of the State Parliament)
Boris Linden (Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in Aachen)
Holger Kiemes (Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in Aachen)
Marco Herwartz (President of the Aachen Chamber of Crafts)
Dr. Ralf Otten (Attorney at Law)
Dr. med. Andre Freese (Deputy Medical Director Luisenhospital Aachen)
Ralf Bruns (Managing Director VUV)
Further information
olympiabewerbung.nrw
Political statements on the application (PDF)
Political advertising
The sponsor is the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The advertisement is linked to the referendum on April 19, 2026 on the planned CologneRhineRuhr bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games from 2036.
Complete transparency information: www.olympiabewerbung.nrw/transparenzerklaerung