MUNICH 2018: ‘BECAUSE CHALLENGES NEVER WAIT‘ – Munich 2018 pledges to meet challenges identified at Copenhagen Olympic Congress

Lausanne: In a powerful climax to their Technical Presentation to IOC members in Lausanne this morning, the Munich 2018 Bid Committee pledged to help the Olympic Movement rise to the challenges identified at the 2009 Olympic Congress in Copenhagen: engaging young people; setting new sustainability standards; and reinvigorating the Winter Games brand.

President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and Olympic champion, Thomas Bach, opened and closed the presentation, which focused on how Munich 2018 – Germany`s 4th Olympic bid in recent times – could add long-term value to the Olympic Movement. Also presenting were: two-time Olympic gold medallist and Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Katarina Witt; Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior, Hans-Peter Friedrich; Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian Ude; CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Bernhard Schwank; BMW Group's Head of Sales and Marketing, Ian Robertson; IOC Athletes' Commission member and Olympian, Claudia Bokel; double Olympic champion, Magdalena Neuner; and IOC Honorary Member, Walther Tröger.

Thomas Bach opened the presentation by reiterating that ‘Munich 2018 is, above all else, a sports-driven bid`. He highlighted that Germany, one of the most successful winter sports nations, had not hosted the Winter Games for nearly 80 years. Bach closed with Munich 2018's compelling promise to the Olympic family:

‘An Olympic Winter Games in Munich will empower us to respond to the challenges we all face; the challenges identified at our Olympic Congress in Copenhagen. The challenge of proving that it is possible to host a sustainable and environmentally-friendly Olympic Winter Games in the face of global warming, carbon emissions and negative construction impacts. The challenge of reaching young people and inspiring them through sport: there's no doubt young people will be drawn to Munich and grasp the inspiration of an Olympic Movement that stays forever young. The challenge of strengthening the brand of the Olympic Winter Games: a Winter Games in Munich would elevate the brand, dramatically increase revenues to the entire Olympic family, and create even greater global appeal for the television broadcast.

‘Why now? Because challenges never wait. If we want to secure a strong future for the Olympic Movement – we have to respond to these challenges now.'

Katarina Witt gave an emotive account of Munich 2018's vision of the ultimate athlete experience:

‘When you choose the Olympic host city, it is about more than just geography. It is a choice about the kind of Olympic experience the athletes of the future should have. In Munich in 2018, every Olympian and Paralympian will have just what they deserve: the single greatest experience of their lives. Because the atmosphere will be everything they have ever dreamed of.'

Christian Ude emphasised the key aspects of Munich 2018's environmental concept, highlighted in the Evaluation Commission report as ‘a strong and innovative sustainability strategy':

‘Many have called [Munich's Olympic Park] the greatest single story of legacy and sustainability in modern Olympic history. And yet, it offers an even better story for the future. By becoming the first city in history to transform Olympic summer venues into showcases for the Winter Games, Munich offers the IOC an opportunity to extend that legacy – from 40 to 80 years – and embrace a new dimension of environmental leadership.'

Bernhard Schwank went on to highlight just some of the measures proposed by Munich 2018 to achieve its ambitious green goals:

‘To stage the first ever carbon-neutral Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Munich 2018 has introduced bold environmental measures through its 18 Flagship Projects, which are fully funded by $139 million in government commitments. We'll completely offset the 284,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel through investments in Gold Standard climate protection projects on the five Olympic continents.'

Hans-Peter Friedrich underlined the committed and enthusiastic public and political support for the bid nationwide:

‘All our Parliaments, local, state and national, and our major political parties, including the opposition, have made Munich 2018 a national and regional priority. Every guarantee required is in place and backed by the power of law. And the bid now enjoys the highest level of support of any major public project in recent times – including the 2006 World Cup bid. Since the Evaluation Commission's poll in December, public support has risen to a record 75%.'

Ian Robertson gave an insight into what a Winter Games in Munich offers from a corporate perspective:

‘We strongly believe Munich 2018 offers a rare opportunity to elevate the brand of the Olympic Winter Games; to strengthen the foundations of winter sport for decades to come. At a major conference of global sport and business leaders recently, it was concluded that the greatest single measure of success at the Olympics is full stadia. It's success for the athletes because it's what they've dreamed of. It's success for the sponsors because it's what they were hoping for. Munich 2018 is uniquely positioned to deliver that success for you, your sports and all of your partners.'

Magdalena Neuner's speech focused on Germany's rich tradition of volunteerism at international sports events: ´If Munich were to host the Winter Games I would serve as a volunteer,' joining the 8.5 million volunteers already registered with the DOSB. Walther Tröger spoke about Germany's enduring commitment to the Olympic Movement, while Claudia Bokel discussed Munich 2018's groundbreaking Olympic Winter Friendship Programme.

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 Katarina 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 Bayern, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, METRO GROUP, and the Sparkasse Finance Group, along with national suppliers ARGE (Albert Speer & Partner and PROPROJEKT), Deloitte, Getty Images, GfK Verein, Hubert Burda Media, 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/en.