KATARINA WITT LEADS CELEBRATION OF SPORT AT 7TH ASIAN WINTER GAMES – Bid Committee shares athlete-focused bid with Olympic family in Kazakhstan

Astana, Kazakhstan: With exactly one month until Munich 2018 welcomes the IOC Evaluation Commission to Munich, the Bid Committee is sharing its Festival of Friendship concept with the Olympic Movement here, as a high level delegation attends the 7th Asian Winter Games in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Munich 2018 delegation, led by Chair of the Bid Committee, Katarina Witt, is holding key briefings with senior members of the Asian Olympic family, including several National Olympic Committees (NOCs) making their debut appearance at the Asian Winter Games. Asia's latest major winter sports competition began this weekend with an impressive opening ceremony and is providing Munich 2018 with an opportunity to observe first-hand the management and organisation of the Games.

Katarina Witt said:

‘This is a fantastic opportunity for Munich 2018 to take our athlete-focused concept to an important constituent of the Olympic Movement. Even though Bavaria has an unprecedented track record in hosting international winter sports events, it is always possible to learn from other events. We continue to seek and listen to guidance from the Olympic family to gain a deeper understanding of how Munich 2018 can fulfil its promise for a Festival of Friendship in 2018.'

Katarina Witt took time out to celebrate volunteerism when she met a group of young local volunteers working at the 7th Asian Winter Games.

In addition to visiting impressive venues such as the ‘Medeu' ice arena, the Munich 2018 delegation is taking every opportunity to meet with athletes, NOCs and International Federations and explain the details behind Munich's commitment to the Olympic Movement – to deliver the most athlete focused Winter Games in history.

Katharina Witt went on to explain:

‘It is always exciting to visit major events in emerging winter sports markets which open up new opportunities. However, in Germany there is a deep-rooted passion for winter sport and we believe that our experience and knowledge of hosting major sports events means that Munich 2018 will provide the basis for the Olympic Movement to reach out and grow new markets.'

The Asian Winter Games, founded by the Olympic Council of Asia, will welcome 26 NOCs from across the continent to compete in 69 events from 11 winter sports disciplines, between 31 January and 6 February 2011.

Munich's bid is founded on Bavaria's uniquely passionate and knowledgeable winter sports fan-base. This is of the utmost importance to athletes, International Federations and NOCs and therefore acts as a vital ingredient in hosting the world's greatest celebration of Winter Sports. The athlete experience remains at the core of Munich's bid to host the Winter Games as the Bid Committee finalises its preparations for welcoming the IOC Evaluation Commission to Munich from 1 to 4 March.

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, whose management is chaired by Bernhard Schwank and whose managing director is Jürgen Bühl. 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 the Adidas, Allianz, BMW Group, BayWa, Flughafen München GmbH, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Post, Lotto Bay ern, 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.