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Iris Spranger (SPD, front row, left to right), Berlin Senator for the Interior and Sport, Kai Wegner (CDU), Governing Mayor of Berlin, and Kaweh Niroomand, Olympic Commissioner for the State of Berlin, pose for a photo with the members of the committee in the Red City Hall during a photo opportunity prior to the constituent meeting of the Board of Trustees for Berlin's bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Kaweh Niroomand (left), Olympic Commissioner for the State of Berlin, and Kai Wegner (CDU), Governing Mayor of Berlin, discuss matters before the board of trustees meeting.
Berlin is gaining momentum in its bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The prominent board of trustees will be chaired by Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and Senator for the Interior and Sport Iris Spranger.
"Our common goal is to spark enthusiasm for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to engage in constructive dialogue with the people of Berlin," said the CDU politician after the constituent meeting in the Rotes Rathaus.
With Olympic champions Malaika Mihambo and Ronald Rauhe and Paralympic champion Elena Semechin at the forefront of the sporting representatives, the committee is led by other personalities from the worlds of sport, culture, business, science, and social affairs. The committee will meet "four to five times" by the end of September, according to Berlin's Olympic representative Kaweh Niroomand. Wegner believes that now is "exactly the right time" for Berlin to get its residents in the mood for the Games. "I've read a lot in recent weeks that we're too late: that's absolute nonsense. The DOSB won't evaluate the bid until the beginning of June. We are right on track," said Wegner. Wegner and Spranger see Berlin's international appeal, which accounts for 40 percent of the bid's score, as a major advantage over its competitors.