Michael Vesper, chairman of Hamburg 2024, was joined by Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz in making the announcement at city hall.

In 2012, Plan International launched an initiative called "Children need fans!" involving a number of prominent sportsmen and women from Germany.

Among them is Mario Götze, who scored an extra-time winner for Germany  to beat Argentina in last year’s FIFA World Cup final.

Three-time Olympic gold medal-winning luger Felix Loch is also an ambassador, along with pole vaulter Björn Otto and Para-cyclist Dorothee Vieth, both silver medallists at London 2012, and two-time Olympic eventing champion Ingrid Klimke.

They all will support the partnership with Hamburg 2024 as part of their commitment to projects that Plan International Germany undertake.

"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world, which is fair and exercised in mutual respect," said Vesper, who is also chairman of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).

"With Plan International, we have found a partner who lives these values in its projects and therefore is ideally suited to us."

Werner Bauch, chief executive of Plan International Germany, added: "We believe that the many children in developing countries should be given the opportunity, together with the athletes, the Hamburg bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and strong economic partners, to identify their potential for a secure future."

Meanwhile, Hamburg 2024 held its third shareholders meeting today as Scholz met with Alfons Hörmann, President of the DOSB, and Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s Interior Minister.

Among the items on the agenda were the management report, discussion of further application strategy and the introduction of an interest register, which will see all members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board and Hamburg 2024 shareholders disclose their economic and personal interests in relation to the bid.

A crucial public referendum into whether Hamburg should stage the 2024 Games began earlier this month with ballot papers being distributed to residents.

Around 1.3 million people in Hamburg and a further 200,000 in nearby Kiel are eligible to take part in the vote, with the referendum itself scheduled for November 29.

Hamburg faces competition from Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome in its bid to stage the 2024 Games with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set to make a decision on the hosts at its session in Peruvian capital Lima in September 2017.

"With today's discussions we have taken important steps and are well prepared to move on the path up to the decision of the IOC," said Nikolas Hill, managing director of Hamburg 2024.


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