“The Path to the Olympic Games Is Increasingly Becoming a Dialogue”

Interview

Professor Wassong, let us begin by looking back at history. How many times has Germany applied to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Since the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany has submitted seven bids to host the Olympic Games. The first was Berchtesgaden for the 1992 Winter Games, followed by Berlin for the 2000 Summer Games, Leipzig for the 2012 Summer Games, Munich for the 2018 Winter Games, and Munich again for the 2022 Winter Games. These were followed by Hamburg’s bid for the 2024 Summer Games and the Rhine-Ruhr region’s bid for 2032. That is quite a substantial number of bids, none of which was ultimately successful. Since Seoul 1988, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same host city as the Olympic Games. Today, therefore, a bid necessarily encompasses both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In June 2026, the IOC General Assembly presented important changes as part of the Fit for the Future process. What does this entail?

Fit for the Future is the comprehensive reform process launched by IOC President Kirsty Coventry after taking office in 2025. At its core is the question of how the Olympic Movement can continue to evolve in ways that ensure its long-term relevance, sustainability, and acceptance within society.

The process began with a broad consultation known as Pause and Reflect. It involved IOC members, members of IOC commissions, international and national sports federations, IOC staff, sponsors, and other stakeholders within the Olympic Movement. According to the IOC, more than 2,200 athletes and athlete representatives also participated.

The results were subsequently evaluated by various commissions and presented to the IOC Executive Board. At the 146th IOC Session in June this year, concrete decisions were derived from these findings. It is important to emphasize, however, that Fit for the Future is not a completed reform initiative. It is a dynamic and ongoing process that will continue to evolve beyond the decisions taken at this Session.

The changes also affect the DOSB’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games between 2036 and 2044. In particular, future bidding campaigns are expected to receive more time to develop their proposals and greater support from the IOC. What specific measures will make this possible?

First, it is important to understand that the IOC fundamentally changed the traditional bidding process under former President Thomas Bach. Previously, there was essentially a distinction between an Applicant City and a Candidate City. Interested cities went through a bidding process at the end of which several applicants were eliminated — in some cases after having invested substantial sums in their bids.

With the 2020 Reform Agenda, this process became much more dialogue-oriented. The IOC initially introduced two phases: Continuous Dialogue and Targeted Dialogue. The objective was to make the bidding process more transparent, cost-effective, and straightforward. This approach was already applied in the awarding of the 2026 Winter Games to Milan-Cortina, the 2030 Winter Games to the French Alps, and the 2032 Summer Games to Brisbane.

As part of Fit for the Future, a third stage is now being introduced: the Strategic Dialogue. With each successive stage, the level of commitment increases. Through this additional phase, the IOC aims to structure the selection process even more carefully while giving candidates greater opportunity to further develop and refine their proposals.

What does this mean for the German bid?

The selected German candidate will initially remain in Continuous Dialogue with the IOC. In March 2027, the IOC Executive Board will decide who will advance to the next stage, the Strategic Dialogue. To inform this decision, the IOC will conduct a feasibility study examining factors such as geography and socioeconomic conditions, sustainability, sports venues, political and public support, and financing models. The IOC also draws on external data sources, including information relating to human rights and sustainability.

During the Strategic Dialogue phase, the degree of commitment increases significantly. Candidates are increasingly required to provide financial guarantees and must complete the Future Host Questionnaire, entitled Your Vision for the Games. It covers approximately 40 topics, including the vision and concept for the Games, legacy, the experience of athletes and spectators, community management, Olympic Villages, sustainability, good governance, human rights, and security. Members of the Future Host Commission also visit the candidate cities.

On the basis of the submitted documentation, feasibility studies, and further discussions, the pool of candidates is then narrowed down. Those remaining are designated as Preferred Hosts and proceed to the Targeted Dialogue.

The key point is that the IOC now provides much closer guidance throughout the entire process. During the different dialogue phases, candidates have the opportunity to make improvements and receive support in further developing their concepts. This is intended to prevent cities from investing enormous sums in a bid over many years without receiving a realistic assessment of their prospects.

That sounds like greater transparency, but at the same time, it also sounds like a rather complicated process.

It is. But the complexity serves a purpose. The aim is to ensure that decisions are based on better and more comprehensive information, while also preventing multiple candidates from reaching the final stage only to be eliminated after incurring very substantial costs.

During the Targeted Dialogue, the so-called Preferred Hosts undergo another round of intensive scrutiny. They have the opportunity to update and refine their documentation. IOC members subsequently receive a detailed report on the remaining candidates, which provides the basis for their final decision.

Regarding the timeline for awarding the Games, the only point that is clear so far is that the 2036 Games will be awarded at the IOC Session in mid-2029. Do you expect the 2040 and 2044 Games to be awarded at the same time?

The Olympic Games are typically awarded seven years before they take place. The procedures established so far therefore relate primarily to the awarding of the 2036 Games, with the decision scheduled for mid-2029.

The IOC has awarded multiple editions of the Games simultaneously in the past — for example, with the dual decision for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. However, there were special circumstances at that time, particularly because very few candidates remained in the running.

Based on the schedule currently published, I would therefore not expect decisions on the 2040 and 2044 Games to be made at the same time. This is also because the IOC generally aims to retain greater flexibility under its new procedure.

Which IOC body ultimately makes the final decision?

The final decision is made by the IOC Session — that is, the plenary assembly of IOC members. It is the IOC’s highest decision-making body. Among its responsibilities, the Session determines the hosts of the Olympic Games, elects the IOC President and IOC members, and approves changes to the IOC’s fundamental rules.

Today, the Session can make its decision on the basis of significantly more comprehensive information than in the past, because members receive detailed reports on the remaining candidates during the Targeted Dialogue. This is an important distinction: the Future Host Commission and the Executive Board prepare the decision, but the final decision on the host is taken by the IOC Session.

Which other international candidates are in the running for the 2036 to 2044 Games?

For 2036, the IOC is currently in Continuous Dialogue with around ten interested parties, including Germany. The others include Ahmedabad in India, Istanbul in Turkey, Doha in Qatar, Santiago de Chile, Egypt’s new administrative capital, the South Korean province of Jeonbuk, Budapest in Hungary, and South Africa—possibly Cape Town. Saudi Arabia has also signalled its interest.

It is therefore clearly a very international field. What is particularly striking is the growing interest from countries and regions that have never previously hosted the Summer Olympic Games. The intention to bid for — and potentially host — the Olympic Games is also closely linked to international visibility and long-term development.

Once the host city has been selected, what exactly does the collaboration between the IOC and the host city look like in the years leading up to the Games?

Following the selection, the so-called Host City Contract, or Olympic Host Contract, is signed. This establishes the principal rights and obligations of both the host and the IOC. An IOC Coordination Commission then supports the Organising Committee throughout the entire preparation phase. This includes regular visits, progress reports, and technical support in areas such as infrastructure, security, sustainability, and budgeting.

This is another area in which Fit for the Future comes into play. The IOC aims to further standardise and simplify the delivery of the Games through a so-called Games Delivery Model. The objective is to make experience and expertise transferable from one edition of the Games to the next, so that each host does not have to reinvent the wheel.

An initial pilot of this approach is scheduled for Brisbane 2032, with the model expected to be fully implemented beginning with the 2036 Games.

As part of the Fit for the Future process, changes are also planned regarding the selection of sports. What are these changes?

The IOC aims to make the Olympic sports programme more flexible and transparent. To understand the reform, it is first necessary to distinguish between sports, disciplines, and events. Take athletics as an example. Athletics is a sport governed internationally by World Athletics. It encompasses disciplines such as running, throwing, and jumping, among others. Within these disciplines are individual events—for example, the 100 metres medal event.

The reform now places greater emphasis on the discipline level. Existing sports and disciplines are to be evaluated regularly. Five overarching criteria will play a role in this process: integrity, fairness, sustainability, and safety; international visibility or global appeal; costs and complexity; athlete participation; and the extent to which a sport aligns with the vision of the respective future host. This means that sports and disciplines already included in the programme will be reviewed and may potentially be removed. At the same time, new sports or disciplines may be added if they receive a positive evaluation. The IOC also hopes that this process will lead to a reduction in the overall size of the programme over the longer term.

In Paris, there were 32 sports, 48 disciplines, and 331 events. For Los Angeles, 35 sports, 51 disciplines, and 351 events are planned. That is an enormous scale. As a general guideline, the IOC is therefore once again aiming for a programme of approximately 28 sports. However, such a reform cannot be implemented overnight. The process is expected to begin playing a role as early as Brisbane 2032, with full implementation taking place gradually thereafter.

But will host cities still be able to propose their own sports?

Yes. That remains an important part of the system. The Organising Committee can propose up to four additional sports, subject to approval by the IOC Session. For Los Angeles 2028, for example, these are cricket, lacrosse, flag football, and squash. This also illustrates why flexibility within the programme is so important. A host can include sports that have particular significance for its population or region, while the IOC continues to determine the fundamental structure of the Olympic programme.

Another milestone in the Fit for the Future plan is the Athletes Grant programme. Every participant in the Olympic Games can apply for a financial grant of $10,000. What message do you see behind this initiative?

I consider this approach to be very important, particularly because the support is not limited to medal winners. The IOC discussed this issue extensively and has now made a conscious decision to make the grant broadly available. It sends a strong message of recognition and appreciation to everyone who participates in the Olympic Games. The fundamental requirement is participation in the Games. Athletes who have been excluded from participation — for example, because of a doping violation or for other reasons — are not eligible.

The Athletes Grant does not compete with other forms of support; rather, it is provided in addition to them. Nor is it limited to a once-in-a-lifetime payment. Athletes who participate in the Olympic Games on multiple occasions can, in principle, receive the grant more than once. The funding is intended, in particular, to support athletes in the transition from elite sport to further education or a professional career. I see this as a very positive starting point. The key question will be how athletes actually use the funding. A subsequent evaluation could then provide a valuable basis for the further development of the programme.

You organise the part-time continuing education programme, the M.A. in Olympic Studies, at the German Sport University Cologne. To what extent do you incorporate the IOC’s reforms into the programme?

The reforms will be directly integrated into the curriculum. This applies to the new bidding process for the Olympic Games, the proposed changes to the Olympic programme, the Athletes Grant, the newly emphasised neutrality of Olympic sport, and, of course, genetic testing to determine biological sex.

Ultimately, we have an obligation to address these developments in order to meet both the scientific and practical expectations of our students, who currently come from 28 countries around the world.