POSTED: February 28th 2011
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Thomas Bach wearing a different hat for IOC evaluation visit
LAURA WALDEN in Munich / Sports Features Communications
MUNICH, Feb 28: As the IOC evaluation Commission arrives in Munich, the 2018 team is ready but this time Thomas Bach will be playing a different, more complicated role. And one that has him thinking.
Bach, IOC vice-president and head of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, has served as chair of two previous IOC commissions critiquing the candidate cities for the 2002 winter and the 2004 summer Olympic Games.
Bach says: “For 2002 we visited eight cities and for 2004 we had 11 cities to visit.”
When asked if this experience has helped him to get an edge he laughed: “I don’t know, now I am sitting in front of some people that I have been grilling, so I just don’t know.
"We will see, I am not worried, but on a more serious note having this experience maybe it can help our bid to be able to read between the lines when a question is asked - maybe purposefully not being asked in a straightforward way. I hope that I can be of help to the bid committee.”
Clash of philosophies
Bach also sees the consideration for the 2018 vote as a decision based largely on two principles. He also stresses that Olympic bidding has cycles as the needs of the movement evolve.
He thinks that some of the IOC members might be inclined to view the vote as a decision to go towards new territories following the pattern set by choosing Sochi for 2014 and, in particular, Rio de Janeiro for 2016 which opened the door on South America. Both he affirmed as good choices.
On the other hand Bach believes that some might need to refuel their Olympic batteries with a dose of good old fashioned Olympic spirit that comes from a city steeped with legacy. Munich holds that special charm of a host city.
Bach says that the Munich bid is looking at making winter sports more attractive to the youth and delivering a more innovative version of the winter Games.
Garmisch land disputes
Questions were raised about the ongoing discussions in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen region about use of the land for the Alpine skiing events. At least one landowner is reluctant to make a deal but Bach sustains that it is only a question of time before they reach agreement.
He says: “This is not a problem at all. For the field of play it is one piece of land with 800sqm and the piece of land was there for the Alpine World Championships and it was ready six weeks before.
“You see what a success the World Championships were and you heard the Minister today who is having the negotiations with the landowner. It is quite logical, if I were a landowner you try to get the best deal. This is what negotiations are about.”
Munich is in the bid race with PyeongChang and Annecy to host the 2018 winter Games. The final vote will take place July 6th in Durban, South Africa at the IOC session.Keywords · Munich 2018 · Thomas Bach · Olympic bids
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