THE ENTHUSIASM IS TREMENDOUS. The first hurdle
has been passed. On 21 March 2015, Hamburg’s bid to be
the national candidate for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic
games was accepted. The 410 members of the German
Olympic Sports Confederation voted unanimously for Ham-
burg in St. Paul’s Church, Frankfurt. Berlin’s rival bid was
unsuccessful. In the end, the Hanseatic city prevailed against
Germany’s capital thanks to a superior concept, which focused
on environmental issues and sustainability, and also because
it had more support from its own citizens. In a representative
survey, 64 percent of Hamburg residents said they were in
favour of bringing the Olympic Games to Hamburg in 2024.
THE ELECTION OF HAMBURG by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) at the general meeting of members
in Lima in July 2017 would not only be a great honour for the
city and for HMC – it would also be a great opportunity. After
all, the experience of recent years has shown that the Olym-
pic Games are also a catalyst for urban development, for the
economy and for the development of the infrastructure –
provided a suitably sustainable concept is devised. There
is also no other international event where so many athletes
from around the world assemble in one place to live and
train together harmoniously and peacefully and to compete
against each other for medals.
AROUND 10,000 ATHLETES are accompanied by tens
of thousands of coaches, advisors and media representatives
– not to mention the millions of spectators who enthusiasti-
cally cheer the athletes on during the events. The athletes
can expect to receive the full support of the people of Ham-
burg for the “games with short access routes”. Fairness and
passion for the cause are intrinsic to the self-image of the
city and people of Hamburg – as is internationality, particu-
larly as exemplified by HMC, which has long been a meeting
place for people from all over the world.
TODAY, HMC WELCOMES more than a million inter-
national visitors every year to its trade fair grounds and to
the CCH. HMC represents the city of Hamburg and acts as a
worldwide ambassador when it promotes its own trade fairs,
including world-leading trade fairs such as the SMM or the
WindEnergy Hamburg, as well as those staged on behalf of
a variety of government ministries. These events reflect the
type of economic clusters that the Hanseatic city considers
worthy of support: sectors like IT and the media, renewable
energy, aerospace, the life sciences, logistics, the maritime
industry and the health sector. HMC collaborates with many
institutions in many different ways – at major events such
as the Annual Convention of the German Protestant Church,
the Haspa Marathon, the Lions Club International Convention
and the Harbour Birthday Festival. The entire metropolitan
area benefits from these successful partnerships.
ENTHUSIASM FOR THE OLYMPICS IN HAMBURG
✱ ✱ ✱
The appeal of the city of Hamburg has grown both in
Germany and abroad. For the first time, Hamburg notched
up more than 12 million overnight stays in 2014, making
it one of Europe’s top 10 city destinations.
✱ ✱ ✱
Hamburg will finally vote in autumn 2015 on the city’s bid to
host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The evident enthusiasm of
its residents proved decisive in the city’s successful campaign
against the rival bid from Berlin.
>12 million over-
night stays
36
Hamburg Messe und Congress | Annual Report 2014
HAMBURG LOCATION