Copenhagen is the latest city to catch Olympic fever.
After this year’s widely lauded Games in Paris, Denmark’s capital announced it is exploring the possibility of hosting the international sporting event, earmarking half a million kroner (€67,000) in its annual budget for a “preliminary study of holding the Olympics.”
The funds will be used to “identify the prerequisites for entering into the bidding process and a possible Danish hosting of the Olympics,” according to the 2025 city budget. Denmark has never hosted the modern Games since they began in 1896.
“My vision is that we must have the smallest and most sustainable Olympics ever,” Copenhagen Culture and Leisure Mayor Mia Nyegaard said in a press release, according to Danish media.
The city will also draw up a bid for the Youth Olympic Games, which like the Olympics are held every four years and will next take place in Dakar in 2026.
With Los Angeles hosting the Summer Games in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032, the earliest Copenhagen could carry the Olympic torch would be 2036.
As far back as 2018, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach spoke positively about Denmark’s chances of hosting the Games. “No one in the sporting world could have any doubts that Denmark could organize a fantastic Olympic Games, organizationally and logistically,” he said, according to Danish media.
The Danes may face competition, however, from another European capital.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month signaled his interest in hosting the Olympics in Warsaw, with an eye on 2040.
Potential host cities have in recent years shied away from hosting the Olympics, spooked by the enormous price tag, disruption to residents’ lives and disputed long-term benefits.
A dearth of bidders led the IOC to implement a series of reforms in 2021, making the bidding process more flexible and slashing the cost of staging the event, in an attempt to revive enthusiasm for the Games.
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