Masterplan of Hamburg's Olympic City Presented

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has voted in March in favour of Hamburg as the official German nominee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The north German city of Hamburg prevailed over Berlin and aims to present games with short distances, on the water and in the heart of Europe's second largest port. The concept is sustainable and compact: An industrial-site in the port will be converted into the “Olympic City”, including the Olympic Village and the Olympic Park.

Four visions for Hamburg's Olympic City have been presented yesterday. Citizens of the Hanseatic City invited to join the discussion. The Hamburg’s Ministry of Urban Development and Environment and HafenCity Hamburg GmbH jointly commissioned a masterplan for the new Olympic City district including planning of the key sports venues – the Olympic Stadium, the Olympic Aquatics Center and the Olympic Hall – as well as the Olympic Village at Kleiner Grasbrook. On 2 June, the current planning status was presented to the public. Four scenarios are now in discussion.

Sustainability a Key Objective

Hamburg offers unique conditions for hosting the Olympics when it comes to urban development, with the games being not an end in themselves, but a catalyst and tool for sustainable urban renewal. Other aspects taken into consideration include, inter alia, the visibility of the Olympic sports facilities in the cityscape, sufficient space next to the sports facilities, and an attractive Olympic Village with meeting facilities. The planers will also have to bear in mind other issues such as the proximity of residences to the planned metro station, the design of the sports park on the waterfront, and a meaningful after-use of the venues after the end of the games.

Conversion of the Stadium, Costs under Control and Participation

Also in discussion is the after use of the Olympic stadium. Options include its full dismantled, a size reducing from 70,000 to 20,000 seats, or a complete conversion of the grandstand areas into flats. The Olympic swimming pool will be converted into a public swimming hall with 50 m pool, and leisure and spa areas as option. The Olympic Hall could be converted into a cruise terminal.

The different approaches will be evaluated in coming weeks in regard to the cost. The final decision to realize the ideas will be taken by the citizens of Hamburg  in November with a referendum on the official application.

Media Service:

• More information and photos can be found here: mediaserver.hamburg.de, please change into the English version and use the keyword “Olympics”.
• The presented plans and visualizations can be downloaded here: hamburg.de/4505218. The visualizations are royality free for editorial use, please use the credits: „KCAP, Kunst + Herbert, Vogt, Arup|GMP, WES, Drees & Sommer“.
• More media-content concerning Hamburg: mediarelations.hamburg.de

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