Hamburg: News that Paris had officially entered the race to host the 2024 Olympic Games was perhaps less painful for Wolfgang Schmidt than the accompanying punctuation.
As it had done in previous reports, the New York Times used last week's French announcement to lay out the growing pile of contenders; a field so far comprising "Rome, Budapest, Boston and Hamburg, Germany."
"I want to get rid of the 'comma, Germany'," said Mr Schmidt, State Secretary and Commissioner for Federal, European and Foreign Affairs of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
"Take a look at the non capital cities that hosted the Olympics," said Mr Schmidt. He credits the 1992 games as building the international profile of Barcelona.
"Everybody still knows Atlanta. Everybody still knows Salt Lake City."
But not everybody knows much about Germany's second-largest city, which was selected by the country's National Olympic Committee in March after polling found Hamburg's residents were more enthusiastic about the idea than those of Berlin.
Research by Hamburg's tourism department also found visitors who had known little about its charms before arriving were quickly won over by the "wonderful" port city and keen to return, Mr Schmidt said – and this is where advocates see an Olympic-sized opportunity.
"There is some truth to it that the problem for Hamburg, or the challenge for Hamburg, is that the city is not as well known as [residents] think it should be," Mr Schmidt said.
Hamburg is building its pitch around new facilities on an inner-city island and the promise to host a "compact, sustainable" games, capitalising on its ample waterways and reputation as one of Europe's greenest cities. Events would be held within 10 kilometres of its centre.
Modelled on London's "legacy" approach, organisers last week also unveiled further details of what the new venues would look like after the games.
One design shows its new 70,000 stadium reduced back to just 20,000; a nearby Olympic hall repurposed as a cruise terminal. The athletes' village, meanwhile, would be converted into a new city neighbourhood of up to 6000 people. The city wants to avoid the Olympic "white elephants" that have plagued other cities.
In a week where Paris declared its rival €6 billion bid would include events in front of the Eiffel Tower, this also meant Hamburg's vision avoided promising any grand architectural gestures, and so far, setting a price tag.
The two elements have been noteworthy features of Hamburg's yet-to-be-completed concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie, which is intended to rival the Sydney Opera House. It is years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of euros over its original budget.
Mr Schmidt blamed the "disaster" of the Elbphilharmonie on the former government, adding that the development had illustrated the need for careful planning – a lesson the new administration had learnt.
Some figures are slated for release ahead of November, when residents will decide through a referendum whether to go ahead with the campaign for 2024.
"Show me the money," said Sven Schulze, the head of environment and climate research at the Hamburg Institute of International Economics, who was sceptical about the notion of a "sustainable" Olympic Games.
"People in Hamburg, some care about this sustainable aspect. But most care about the cost," Dr Schulze said.
It was a sentiment that tempered the enthusiasm of those who spoke to Fairfax Media on the streets of Hamburg.
"If I get a clear statement saying all the billions which will be invested will be paid by other private persons, I would say yes," said Hans, 70, who declined to give his last name. "But if I don't get a clear statement, I will say no."
In Berlin, long-time resident of the capital Marian Dragota agreed that hosting the Olympics would help Hamburg lift its global profile.
But up against the other contenders vying for 2024, it had "no chance," he said.
"The most important thing is being there," he added.
Leesha McKenny travelled to Germany as the 2015 recipient of the German Grant for Journalism.