Munich 2018 – PRESIDENT WULFF TO JOIN MUNICH 2018 IN DURBAN – Germany’s Head of State to present Munich 2018’s vision at 123rd IOC Session

Lausanne: The Munich 2018 Bid Committee today confirmed that President Christian Wulff, Germany's Head of State, will travel to Durban in July for the 123rd IOC Session and the announcement of the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Host City.

President Wulff will join the Munich 2018 team for the climax of the campaign in South Africa and offer his personal assurances to the IOC that Germany stands united behind the Bavarian capital's Winter Games bid. Germany's Head of State gave a video message to the IOC members at Munich 2018's Technical Presentation today, and news that he will present in person in Durban will certainly give the team fresh momentum.

Thomas Bach, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and Chairman of the Munich 2018 Shareholders' Board, said:

 It underlines the German administration's wholehearted commitment to Munich 2018 and to the Olympic Movement. From Federal, through to regional, local and municipal level, every tier of government has been a dedicated and proactive partner throughout our bid campaign. Munich 2018's sporting, social and sustainability goals have been aligned with the nation from the very beginning.'

Katarina Witt, two-time Olympic champion and Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, added:

‘It will be a real honour to travel with Germany's Head of State to South Africa once again. I was at last year's FIFA World Cup with him and I know he has a real passion for sport and for our bid.'

Bernhard Schwank, Munich 2018 CEO, said:

‘We are going to be taking a very high-profile delegation to Durban, because we want to make it absolutely clear that Munich 2018 is a national priority.'

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.