“Berlin is fit for it,” he said.

And Munich could bid to host the winter Games, it was also announced on Tuesday, with the preferred date being 2022.

If Berlin were to put in a bid for the games, Wowereit said that it “would only make sense if the application was supported by the whole of Germany and by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).” He said either the 2024 or 2028 Games would be of interest.

Director General of the DOSB Michael Vesper said of the potential Munich bid, “We want to put a bid in but only if we have a chance of winning,” said Vesper, adding that it was good news for the Germany that there were no American cities known to be bidding.

“This raises the chances for European cities,” he said.

Both cities have hosted the summer Games before – two of the most infamous Olympics in history. Berlin’s Olympics were Hitler’s Olympics in 1936, while Munich’s in 1972 were the scene of a Palestinian terrorist attack which left 11 members of the Israeli team dead.

Berlin came close to hosting the 2000 summer Olympics but was beaten to the winning post by Sydney. Any bid would depend on the new international Berlin-Brandenburg BER airport being finished and proven.

Wowereit, who heads the enormous project, was horribly embarrassed in May when it was admitted that the June opening date would not be met – and the next target was set at a provisional March 2013.

The project has already run way over budget, while revelations about problems and mistakes appear almost daily in the regional media.

DPA/The Local/jcw