German officials picked Munich to bid for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044.
Munich, which was Germany’s most recent Olympic host in 1972, was chosen over a regional bid led by Cologne.
Berlin was also a candidate before dropping out earlier this week, citing political instability while also trailing Munich and Cologne in data-based rankings.
The 2036 Summer Games are set to be the next to be awarded — in mid-2029 — after 2032 went to Brisbane, Australia, and the 2034 Winter Games to Utah.
Candidates for 2036 specifically are believed to still include Qatar, which announced its Doha bid in July 2025, and India, which sent a letter of intent to the IOC in October 2024.
If Europe does not host in 2036, it will mark the first time that the continent goes three consecutive Summer Games without hosting.
Germany’s most recent bid to reach the finalist phase was with Munich, which was runner-up to PyeongChang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Games.
Its last finalist bid for the Summer Games was with Berlin for 2000. It finished fourth in voting won by Sydney.
