POSTED: March 31st 2011
NewsUpdate
May 8 referendum in Garmisch to resolve land row for Munich 2018 bid
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
MANCHESTER/MUNICH, Mar 31: The controversial land dispute which has cast a long shadow over Munich's bid to host the 2018 Wnter Olympics will be resolved long before the IOC decision in Durban.
The two referendums generated by residents of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, for and against the prospect of staging the Alpine skiing at the foot of the Zutspitze if the Bavarian bid is successful, will be balloted on May 8.
A 14-strong IOC inspection team visited Garmisch at the start of March during a four-day assessment of the Munich bid. They met local advocates for bringing the Olympic skiing to Garmisch, including former champions Rosi Mittermaier and husband Christian Neureuther.
They also heard Munich bid leaders such as chair Katarina Witt insist that a local land issue would not be a problem even if the refendum resulted in a No vote. Witt insists that only a very small plot of land, at the base of the skiing complex, is in dispute.
However the issue has plainly been a jarring irritant for the Munich team at every stage along the presentational road to Durban - a road whose next stop is in London next week durng SportAccord.
The referendums take place two days before the IOC publishes its assessments of the technical strengths and weaknesses of all three contenders - Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang - and just over a week before they state their case to the full International Olympic Committee in Lausanne. The definitive IOC vote is in Durban on July 6.
Keywords · Munich 2018 · Winter Olympics · Garmisch-Partenkirchen · referendum
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