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WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Germany decided Tuesday it will bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics to be hosted in Berlin or Hamburg, making it the chief bidding rival of the U.S. The German government announced their intent two months after both Berlin and Hamburg submitted their bid proposals.
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"We are utterly convinced that this presents a great opportunity for both a city and German sports in general," Olympic Committee President Alfons Hormann told Deutche Welle, before adding, "the Olympic project can and will be good for our country."
The U.S. has also announced its intent to bid for the Games with Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Washington, D.C., as the host city.
The official bidding for the games begins in 2015 and the host city will be selected in 2017.
Though potential hosts of the 2022 Winter Games have been withdrawing their bids due to the exorbitant cost of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the Summer Games still catalyze enthusiasm.
Germany has not hosted the Games since the 1972 Munich Games which were overshadowed by terrorists kidnapping and killing 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. The 1936 Games in Berlin were marked by Nazi propaganda surrounding the competition and Hamburg has never hosted the Olympic Games.
Germany previously bid for the Olympics in 2000 and 2012. The country withdrew a bid to host the 2022 Winter Games in Munich after failing to rally public support. Germany has also indicated if it loses the 2024 bid, it would be willing to make a pass at 2028.
