Hamburg says 'No' to Olympic bid

Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz announced that his city would not be hosting the Olympic Games in 2024. Hamburg's Office for Statistics confirmed that - despite not having the final count of the votes available yet - it would be impossible for supporters of the Olympic bid to get in a majority anymore.

"Hamburg will not bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024," Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz said.

"The senate and I would have preferred a different decision, but it is a clear one."

At the latest tally, roughly 51.7 percent of those participating in the referendum had decided against continuing Hamburg's bid to host the 2024 Olympics. Meanwhile, Hamburg's partner city Kiel voted resoundingly in favor of hosting the event, with almost 66 percent of all participants supporting the bid - but to no avail. About 50 percent of eligible voters chose to take part.

No Olympics in Germany for 43 years

Opponents of the bid had argued that hosting the 33rd Olympic Games would cost the city too much in public funds. The 7.4-billion-euro ($7.84 billion) project had also been scrutinized on account of environmental concerns as well as security issues in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Germany has not hosted the Olympics since the 1972 games in Munich. The referendum accounts for the seventh failed bid for Germany to host the world's biggest sporting event. This was the second Olympic bid turned down in Germany within two years, after locals also vetoed a Munich bid for the 2022 Winter Games in November 2013.

The remaining four candidate cities for the International Olympic Commitee (IOC) are Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Budapest. The host city is due to be elected by the IOC in 2017.

ss/rc (dpa, SID, AP, Reuters)