Olympic bid
October 26, 2009
The final decision won't be made until July 2011, but the city of Munich in southern Germany is already running an active campaign in its bid as a candidate for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Should Munich be awarded the Games, it will become the first city to have hosted both the summer and winter Olympics.
Closing a tragic chapter
The 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich started off as a success, but ended in tragedy when 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were brutally murdered by Arab terrorists.
Richard Adam, managing director of the 2018 bid committee said hosting another Olympic Games would be an opportunity for Munich to deal with this painful chapter in its history and bring closure.
"This gives us the perfect chance to memorialize the victims of this tragic event and show that we can still deliver a perfect Olympic Games, like we did for the Soccer World Cup in 2006," said Adam.
What's more, he pointed out, the Olympic infrastructure already exists. While that doesn't necessarily promise a lot of new jobs, it does mean Munich has efficiency on its side.
Green potential
The Munich 2018 committee is counting on lots of snow for these winter games, but green is the color of its environmentally friendly bid campaign.
The committee is pushing the selling point that there would be zero consumption of new land development for the 2018 Munich Winter Olympics: The existing 1972 Olympic Park facilities in Munich could be used for the ice sports, the Schoenau am Koenigssee location for the bobsled and loge events, and the snow sport events could be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Mobile sponsors
"The published reports of circa 30 million euros for executing this bid process is not an application fee, rather our own budget calculation for the entire bid campaign," said Adam, explaining these funds have been secured from corporate sponsors, rather than from government funding.
BMW, based in Munich, was on board from the start. The carmaker was also a sponsor of the 1972 Olympics, with the 1602 Elektro BMW 2002 kicking off the Games and being used as a pace car. BMW plans to play a key role in mobility and traffic programs for the 2018 Winter Games.
"We see this as a long-term investment in the future aimed at creating the values of tomorrow," said Joerg Kottmeier, BMW's director of sports communication. "Social responsibility is part of our corporate self image."
Another sponsor that has already committed to the bid is the Munich Airport, which would have to play a major role in the logistics of the Games. It is currently the seventh largest airport in Europe, transporting 34 million passengers per year, according to Hans-Juergen Bues, the airport's director of corporate communication.
"We originally wanted to have this (airport) built before the 1972 Olympics, now we have what it takes in place for 2018," said Bues, who remains very optimistic in Munich's chances for being awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Competition from France, South Korea
To win the bid, Munich will have to make a stronger case than Annecy, France, and Pyeong Chang, South Korea, which have also joined the official bidding.
In the meantime, winter sports fans will be heading to Vancouver, Canada, where the 2010 Winter Games take place from February 12 to 28.
Author: Dan Roccapriore
Editor: Kate Bowen