Berlin and Brandenburg launch review process for joint Expo 2035 bid

Background and Timeline

Wegner wrote that the goal of the process was to "die Voraussetzungen, Chancen, Risiken und Erfolgsaussichten einer möglichen Expo-Bewerbung systematisch zu untersuchen und bis spätestens Oktober 2026 eine gemeinsame Entscheidungsgrundlage der Länder zu erarbeiten". Such a bid could "weit über ein zeitlich begrenztes Großereignis hinausreichen: Sie hätte das Potenzial, Impulse für nachhaltige Infrastrukturentwicklungen, wirtschaftliche Dynamik, internationale Sichtbarkeit sowie den gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt in der Metropolregion Berlin-Brandenburg zu setzen".

According to participants, the timeline had previously been discussed with the Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, the body that awards the World Expositions. Wegner demanded plans regarding the strategic concept, guiding idea, possible sites, necessary infrastructure and mobility, as well as costs and economic viability.

Berlin and Brandenburg would have "einzigartige Voraussetzungen, um Herausforderungen und Entwicklungen von globaler Bedeutung sichtbar zu machen und das Potenzial der Hauptstadtregion als Zukunftslabor Europas herauszuarbeiten", Wegner continued. He also thanked Berlin's business community for their contribution in bringing the idea of an Expo 2035 to a broader public.

Location and Sites

Areas around BER airport, which lie predominantly in Brandenburg, are being discussed as the main location for a potential Expo. A private Berlin Expo initiative favors a roughly 200-hectare site near BER as the main grounds, supplemented by a number of "Expo satellites." About a month before publication, Wegner had described the area of the former Schönefeld airport as an "ideale Fläche für eine Expo".

The idea of an Expo 2035 in Berlin goes back to Daniel-Jan Girl, then president of the IHK Berlin (Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce), who initiated it in February 2022 with a guest contribution in the Tagesspiegel series "75 Visionen für Berlin." Brandenburg's entire business community, including companies such as Tesla and ArcelorMittal, had recently made their clear support for a joint bid known in a letter to Wegner and Woidke.

Relationship to the Olympic Bid

In the letter to Giffey and Evers, Wegner simultaneously made clear that he and Woidke continued to view the Olympic efforts as a priority and that the Expo review process should explore "synergetische Potenziale". Berlin is bidding together with Brandenburg, Saxony, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044. On 26 September 2026, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) intends to decide whom it will send into the international bid race.

That the Olympic bid is associated with obstacles was most recently demonstrated by Hamburg's withdrawal following a rejected citizens' referendum, which was generally regarded as a setback for Berlin's chances. A Berlin citizens' referendum on the Olympic bid is not planned, because the state constitution does not provide for such an instrument. In the Rhineland and the Ruhr area, as well as in Munich, on the other hand, citizens' referendums had produced clear majorities in favor of the Olympics.

Reactions from the Coalition

Political pressure on the coalition partner CDU and Wegner had meanwhile come from the Berlin SPD, which positioned itself as an Expo supporter and convened an extraordinary coalition committee. According to dpa information, this had not yet met, but there was a preparatory meeting of the coalition leaders the previous Thursday regarding an orderly Expo process. Berlin's SPD chief and top candidate for the House of Representatives election on 20 September, Steffen Krach, told dpa: "Beharrlichkeit zahlt sich aus". The development admittedly had "etwas von betreutem Regieren, aber Hauptsache, Kai Wegner bewegt sich. Wir kriegen endlich einen strukturierten Prozess".

Krach called the project "Gut für Berlin und die Metropolregion" and pointed out that the bid would now be seriously advanced by Economics Senator Giffey. Wegner stated that, as a next step, a joint concept would be discussed with Brandenburg, "unter Einbeziehung dieser fachlichen Expertise und der geleisteten Vorarbeiten".