German minister: IOC showed positive signs over Munich Olympic bid

State Minister for Sport Ronald Rauhe said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry showed "positive signals" regarding Germany's bid to host the Olympics in Munich.

"She was very grateful that we are continuing the bid process with Munich and sees us as a driving force for Europe. Those were very positive signals," he told the Spiegel magazine after a meeting with Coventry and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Rauhe plans to work with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the city of Munich to campaign even more vigorously for the German candidate. 

The Olympic canoeing champion is also confident of Merz's support. 

"You can tell he’s absolutely determined to bring the Games home," Rauhe said.

The IOC is expected to decide in March which of the candidates will advance to the next phase of the process, called "strategic dialogue."

In December 2028, the body will then select one or more preferred hosts for a "targeted dialogue" before the host city for 2036 Summer Olympics is determined at a general assembly in mid-2029. 

If Europe doesn't win the bid, Munich would run again for 2040 or 2044.

The IOC recently said that, besides Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Turkey are interested in hosting the Games in 2036.