Overview
- NRW Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, during a Tuesday visit to Duisburg’s regatta course, said one in ten of up to 14 million tickets would be discounted for youths, families and sports volunteers.
- More than four million people in 17 North Rhine–Westphalian cities are voting in local referendums, known in Germany as Ratsbürgerentscheide, with ballots to be counted on April 19.
- Cologne’s turnout is strong in early mail voting, with about 30% of its 814,141 eligible voters having already sent ballots, according to local reports.
- Cologne’s mayor Torsten Burmester defended the bid, invited critic Jan Böhmermann to meet and said the €4.8 billion organizing budget could be covered by marketing and ticket sales.
- Bid plans emphasize existing or temporary venues, including swimming in Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena and a temporary athletics stadium in north Cologne that would be converted into homes for about 10,000 people, while the DOSB is set to pick Germany’s candidate on September 26 with Munich, Hamburg and Berlin competing.