CITY FLIES FLAG FOR MUNICH 2018 -Bavarian capital basks in blue and white for Olympic bid

  Munich: The IOC Evaluation Commission will next week see first-hand Munich's collective desire to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, as a city-wide branding campaign covers the state capital in the blue and white of both Bavaria and Munich 2018.

Munich 2018's partners have activated a wide range of marketing initiatives just as the Bid Committee prepares for the most critical week of its campaign. With transport links and public buildings proudly sporting the Munich 2018 emblem and colours, two-time Olympic champion and Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Katarina Witt, is eagerly anticipating the upsurge in Olympic spirit set to sweep the city:

‘It is really impressive to see how much our partners are getting behind us right there in blue and white! This striking display of unified support is a sign of the successes of our ‘Friends of the Bid' programme and our recent positive public opinion polls. Munich 2018 is everywhere you look and it proves that the entire city is getting behind the bid. It will give us great impetus as we make our final preparations for staging an excellent Evaluation Commission visit.'

A large number of retailers and service providers have decorated their buildings and windows with pro-Munich 2018 messages. Sporthaus Schuster's gigantic ‘Pack Ma's' (‘Let's do it') banner is one of the most eye-catching examples.

Immo 2018, a partnership of almost 30 companies from the real estate sector, has draped some of Munich's most prominent buildings with huge banners and flags. Spokesperson Peter Bigelmaier expressed the partnership's passion for raising public interest in the bid:

‘We're making the most of our resources and using big, attention-grabbing banners on highly frequented buildings and streets. We want to strengthen the awareness for this exceptional chance to welcome the world to an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Munich.'

Information screens at the metro stations will carry Munich 2018's engaging TV spot, encouraging tens of thousands of daily users to wonder, ‘What if we all celebrated a winter fairy tale together?' Outdoor advertising specialists Ströer have provided 400 billboards and over 1,000 posters on advertising pillars across the city.

24 bars, restaurants and cafés around the historic Marienplatz will distribute 50,000 beer mats bearing the Munich 2018 logo and the slogan, ‘Enjoy ice cold'. And Munich Municipal Savings Bank is advertising the bid in 91 branches, 50 service points and 185 cash machines.

Munich 2018's Festival of Friendship concept is founded on its pledge to deliver an unforgettable atmosphere fuelled by millions of passionate fans. The Bid Committee is confident that the swathe of blue and white banners ready to greet the IOC's Evaluation Commission's arrival on 28 February will provide yet more compelling evidence that the public's excitement about the bid is growing all the time.

Background
Munich, in collaboration with Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgadener Land, is applying to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The application will be put together and managed by Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH, with Karatina Witt as Chair, Bernhard Schwank as CEO and Jürgen Bühl as Managing Director. Shareholders in the application organisation are the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) with 51 per cent, the City of Munich (30 per cent), the Free State of Bavaria (nine per cent), the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (eight per cent) and the district of Berchtesgadener Land (two per cent). The bid is being supported by national sponsors Adidas, Allianz, the BMW Group, BayWa, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Post, Flughafen München GmbH, Lotto Bayer n, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the Sparkasse Finance Group, along with national suppliers ARGE (Albert Speer & Partner and PROPROJEKT), Deloitte, Getty Images, GfK Verein, IMMO 2018, Messe München GmbH, Norton Rose LLP, Munich Olympic Park, pilot sport and Stadtwerke München GmbH. More information about the concept, the progress of the application and many other aspects can be found at www.muenchen2018.org.