MUNICH 2018 TO CELEBRATE GAMES ATMOSPHERE IN OLYMPIC PARK – Ice hockey legends face-off at Munich\’s Winter Sport Festival

Munich's eagerly anticipated Winter Sport Festival this weekend is expected to attract 20,000 visitors from across Bavaria, as winter sports fans flock to Munich's Olympic Park for a taste of the magic that the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games would bring to the city.

Enthusiasts of all ages will have the opportunity to try out every sport on the Winter Games programme for free at master-classes run by Olympic and Paralympic heroes past and present. The highlight of the weekend will be Saturday night's exhibition match, with local top-flight ice hockey side EHC Munich taking on the Munich 2018 Winter Stars – an invitational team featuring legendary Olympians Erich Kühnhackl, Didi Hegen and Peppi Heiß, among others.

The Winter Sport Festival gives the Munich 2018 sports ambassadors a chance to demonstrate their dedication to the bid, with curling stars Andreas and Uli Kapp volunteering to switch their usual brooms for hockey sticks and prove their skills on the ice. Munich 2018's sports ambassadors will line up next to German ice hockey legends, such as Erich Kühnhackl, Peppi Heiß, Alois Schloder and Didi Hegen in the Winter Stars team.

Erich Kühnhackl, bronze medal winner at the Winter Games in Innsbruck in 1976, will captain the Munich 2018 Winter Stars.

EHC Munich will show their full support for the bid at today's match against the Straubing Tigers by hoisting the Munich 2018 flag above the famously passionate crowd. The EHC Munich team will proudly sport Munich 2018 logos on their jerseys and spectators will be entertained with fan campaigns during breaks, building the continually increasing support for the bid.

Spectators and athletes at the Winter Sport Festival will benefit from Munich's wealth of experience in hosting sports mega-events, with the Olympic Park and the Munich sports authority providing the proven organisational expertise that is a vital for a safe and secure celebration of winter sports. This timely reminder of Munich's excellent winter sports hosting credentials comes at a crucial time for Munich 2018 as the Bid Committee prepares to welcome the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission to Bavaria from 1 to 4 March.