Berlin Olympics Bid Draws New Support : Unity: Four West German sites would withdraw applications if Berlin sought the Games. Juan Antonio Samaranch calls such a move a ‘symbol of peace.’

Four West German sites are willing to drop out of the running for the 2004 Olympics to clear the way for a bid by East and West Berlin, a West German official said today.

Among the West German sites that had expressed interest in holding the games are Frankfurt, Hamburg, the Ruhr Valley and Stuttgart.

“All have said they would drop out of contention if Berlin applies to host the Olympics,” said Wolfram Kratzat, Frankfurt’s top Olympics project director.

Also today, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch said that the idea of holding the Olympics in Berlin is appealing because it would be “a symbol of peace.”

Samaranch, interviewed by the French sports daily L’Equipe, said a proposal for Berlin to host the Games made a few years ago by Willi Daume, president of the West German national Olympic committee, “is no longer a Utopian ideal. Even East German officials say it’s a possibility.

“One speaks of 2004 without doubt because one imagines that Beijing in China has a good chance for 2000, as does Paris.” Samaranch said. “But why delay this candidacy four years? In 1993 we will choose the city for the year 2000. In only four years.

“This idea (of Berlin) is appealing because it is a symbol of peace even if between now and then there are many changes in the present-day situation.”

Samaranch also touched on the idea of a unified German team but saw obstacles. “One can imagine a united German team would be an irresistible force. But this possibility does not concern the IOC. It is a choice of the state concerned, and we would not get involved,” he said.

Manfred Seeger, West Germany’s National Olympic Committee spokesman, said East Germany’s lifting of travel restrictions makes a Berlin Games a possibility.

“The main problem was the (Berlin) Wall, and that problem is now gone,” Seeger said. “But we must still wait and see how the situation develops in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).”