Organizers not ruling out withdrawing Berlin's Olympic bid

Berlin's Olympic organizers will gather to discuss the city's bid to host the Games following the latest setbacks after The Left came top in Sunday's election in the German capital.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, Berlin Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger and Berlin's Olympic Commissioner Kaweh Niroomand will participate in the meeting, which is said to have been scheduled for a while.

According to information available to dpa, organizers aren't ruling out the possibility of withdrawing the bid before the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) extraordinary general meeting on Saturday, when the body will select Germany's candidate to host the Olympics in 2036, 2040 and 2044.

Berlin's hopes of hosting the Games took a huge blow after The Left's election success as the party strongly opposes the bid.

Elif Eralp, who is poised to become the city's next mayor, said she has "made it very clear" that she considers the Olympic bid and the "many more millions and billions" that are to be spent with hosting the Games are "a waste of taxpayer money." She also doesn't see "any benefit for Berlin."

Twenty members of the board of trustees for Berlin's Olympic bid, which includes representatives from politics, business, sports, civil society, and religion, wrote to Eralp seeking dialogue.

However, according to Niroomand, she didn't respond to the letter nor other offers for conversation.

Eralp's statement and refusal to hold conversations has triggered sharp criticism from Bob Hanning, managing director of handball team Füchse Berlin.

"She isn't even in office yet. And to make a statement like that is despicable. It's downright cheeky," he said.

"If you say you want to unite a society and a board of trustees from Berlin asks you for a meeting, and then you respond with such a slap in the face, then that is undemocratic, disreputable and cannot be justified by anything," Hanning raged.

Berlin is running against Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region. DOSB evaluators rated rival bids more highly than the capital's on Tuesday.

Munich received 87 out of 100 points and Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr 85, with both rated "very good." Berlin scored 74.6 points, earning a "good" rating.