The Dutch cabinet is due to decide on Friday whether to support the Dutch national Olympic Association's bid to host the 2028 Olympic Games, according to dpa. The Dutch Olympic Association NOC-NSF has long been campaigning for Dutch candidacy to organize these Games. The decision, which would require annual government investment for its candidacy campaign, is considered sensitive in the Netherlands. A previous Dutch bid in 1984 to host the 1992 Olympic Games failed dramatically due to bad coordination, poor planning and insufficient funding for its candidacy campaign. A spokesperson of NOC-NSF told the German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday the organization "does not have a clue" what the cabinet is due to decide on Friday. But Dutch media reported it was "likely" the government would support the Dutch bid to host the 2028 Olympic Games, as it marks the centennial anniversary of the last time the Dutch organized the Games which then took place in Amsterdam. Meanwhile local Dutch politicians were already at odds over the question whether the games should take place in Rotterdam or The Hague in 2028. On Tuesday, a Rotterdam alderman suggested in daily news paper De Telegraaf The Hague with its broad beaches would be a better option than his own city. His remarks causing fury with the chairman of Hoek van Holland - part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area - who claimed his town boasts even bigger beaches than The Hague which would be ideal for beach sports. Dutch crown prince Willem-Alexander is one of the 105 members of the International Olympic Committee, along with two other Dutch nationals. From 1994 to February 2009, the future Dutch king served as guardian of the Dutch Olympic association NOC-NSF.
