CologneRhineRuhr Olympic bid backed by 66% of voters in referendum

The German Olympic body DOSB said on Monday that 66% of voters in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia have backed an Olympic bid in a referendum.

On Sunday, results already showed that the majority of citizens in the region had backed the Olympic bid. But the final numbers were confirmed only a day after because in Cologne, the "leading city" the vote count continued until the early hours of Monday morning.

The required majority was achieved in 16 of the 17 municipalities. Only Herten failed to reach the required quorum of voters and, as a result, the city is out of the project.

The municipality was expected to host mountain bike competitions.

The so called CologneRhineRuhr bid from across the region is now set to go to the DOSB, which will decide in September which of four concepts should be chosen to bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044.

North Rhine-Westphalia - Germany's most populous state - is one of four contenders for Germany's Olympic bid. Munich had already achieved a clear majority in a referendum last year. Hamburg is holding a vote at the end of May. Berlin is dispensing with a public vote.

Whichever city or region is chosen to be Germany's bidder still faces an uphill battle to secure a Summer Olympics with India, Qatar, Turkey, Chile and South Africa among those expected to also make a bid to the International Olympic Committee.

The next Summer Games are in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.