Leipzig

The Olympics make it possible: Leipzig, a more or less middle-sized industrial town in Saxony, Germany, is aligned with cities such as Moscow, New York, London, Paris, Madrid, Istanbul, Havana and Rio de Janeiro as one of the nine cities in the race to host the Olympics in 2012.

92.4 per cent of its 500, 000 inhabitants are backing the decision of their political leaders; 60, 000 of them cheered and cried with joy in summer 2003 on the day it was announced that Leipzig would have the honour to put in Germany's bid to host the Games in 2012, beating much more prestigious competitors such as Hamburg. The Olympic Committee doesn't decide on the 2012 finalists until the summer of 2005 and so Leipzig has time to prove that being 'the odd one out' does not necessarily count against it.

First of all we need to explore where exactly to find Leipzig on the map. It is within a triangle created by Berlin, Weimar, and Dresden, in Saxony (Sachsen)-one of the five 'Neue Bundesländer' (new federal states) in East Germany, which joined the 'Bundesländer' of West Germany after the fall of the wall in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of Germany in 1990. The citizens of Leipzig showed their massive determination at that time with their so called 'Montagsmärsche' (Monday walks) in support of the fall of the Wall. The peaceful revolution in 1989 was often referred to as 'Das Wunder von Leipzig' (Leipzig's miracle). And now the people in Leipzig aspire to a second 'Wunder von Leipzig', with its bid for the 2012 Olympics. They are sending out a message of 'one family': the world should join together and meet in the centre of Leipzig, where the athletes and sport itself will be the focus, not money or business, and certainly not 'gigantism'. The Olympic sports events would take place within a radius of 10 kilometres of Leipzig's city centre, and if anyone says Leipzig is too small for all the visitors the Games attract, the citizens of Leipzig are sure to counter with the charming answer that 'the whole city will become one single Olympic village'!

This same city centre had been completely destroyed towards the end of the 2nd Word War. After having been rebuilt after the war, it suffered neglect during the late stages of the GDR regime. Following reunification, the people of Leipzig did not complain but rather used their situation as a chance to demonstrate their strength of character. Within a little more than a decade they not only succeeded in giving their city a complete facelift, but they also managed to improve the surroundings of Leipzig, from an industrial wasteland into a potential recreational paradise. Leipzig is also a university city, with a very old tradition. Briefly known as Karl Marx University, it is now back to 'Universität Leipzig' and is in the process of preparing for its 600th anniversary in 2009. Goethe, one of its former students, called the city a 'little Paris'.

Proud of its traditions of intellectualism and culture, the people of Leipzig now want to add sport and hospitality to its reputation. With a big divide still separating the old and the new federal states of Germany, success for Leipzig in the Olympic bid would provide a huge boost not only for Leipzig itself but for the whole of the eastern part of the country.