The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1936), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: Spiele der XI. Olympiade) and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th International Olympic Committee meeting on 26 April 1931. The 1936 Games marked the second and most recent time the IOC gathered to vote in a city bidding to host those Games. Later rule modifications forbade cities hosting the bid vote from being awarded the games.
To outdo the 1932 Los Angeles Games, Adolf Hitler had a new 100,000-seat track and field stadium built, as well as six gymnasiums and other smaller arenas.