Bid for the 2018 Olympic Games in Munich

The bid

Bavaria’s capital Munich, together with the market town Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Berchtesgadener Land district, is applying to host the XXIII Olympic and XII Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. After having been elected as a candidate city on 22 June 2010, Munich submitted a second application document on 11 January 2011.

This Bid Book outlines the detailed plan for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and will be used as a reference by the Evaluation Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which will visit Germany from 27 February to 4 March 2011. In addition to the Bid Book, the Commission’s report and the presentations of the candidate cities will be the basis for electing the host city. The decision is taken at the IOC General Assembly in Durban (South Africa) on 6 July 2011. Further applicants are Annecy (France) and Pyeongchang (Republic of Korea).

The role of the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of the Interior

The Federal Government has supported the idea of hosting the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Germany from the start and considers Munich’s bid as a national task.

Hosting the Games is an outstanding opportunity for Germans to show the world that they are open-minded, motivated and cheerful. Moreover, the Federal Government is strongly committed to the Olympic idea of promoting understanding, friendship and fair play through sport.

As the responsible ministry within the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, in close consultation with the Federal Chancellery, relevant federal ministries and the Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH, helped prepare the Bid Book. In the various expert committees, representatives of the 2018 project group at the Federal Ministry of the Interior ensured that federal interests regarding the Olympic bid were taken into account and implemented. In addition to funding, they include the application of anti-doping legislation, the security of the Games and the entry of accredited persons into the Federal Republic of Germany.

In its Cabinet decision of 3 November 2010, the Federal Government endorsed the interior ministry’s report on Munich’s bid to host the XXIII Olympic and XII Paralymic Winter Games in 2018 as well as the relevant application files.

+ Sportminister Dr. de Maizière Source: BMI/Hans-Joachim M. Rickel

The concept

The bid is based on a compact “Two-Park Concept” with two Olympic villages in Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which keeps distances short and is tailored to the needs of athletes and the Olympic family. Existing sport venues would be adapted and enhanced to be available for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. While skating competitions would be held in Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen would host the skiing competitions and Schönau am Königsee the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions.

The bid also includes an internationally recognized environmental and sustainability concept representing Munich’s vision of eco- and climate-friendly Games.

Next steps

In the run-up to the final decision on 6 July 2011, we will further communicate these advantages at upcoming sporting events, in presentations or during the visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission in spring 2011.

The ongoing world alpine skiing championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the bob and skeleton world championships in Königssee are a great opportunity to show not only the German spectators’ enthusiasm for winter sports but also the suitability of certain venues for the 2018 Winter Games.

The overwhelmingly positive international feedback, e.g. after the first presentation of the bid to the Olympic family in Acapulco, shows that the international sports community is very confident – not only since the 2006 FIFA World Cup – that Germany will be able to host large-scale sporting events with both great expertise and enthusiasm.

Munich could go down in history as the first Olympic city which hosted both Summer and Winter Games. In doing so, Munich would also provide an example of the sustainable use of Olympic venues.

Source: The Federal Ministry of the Interior