POSTED: Tuesday December 22nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW CABLE CAR LIFTS MUNICH'S 2018 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES BID

´Kandahar-Express` operates to carry skiers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen uphill

Munich, December 22, 2009 – Munich’s hopes of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 have been lifted with the opening of a new 1.5 kilometre cable car service, capable of carrying up to 2,000 passengers per hour to the pistes of Garmisch-Partenkirchen – a key location for the Munich 2018 alpine events.

The eight million Euro ‘Kandahar Express’ represents a significant enhancement of the region’s winter sports infrastructure and was partly funded by federal and state government, underscoring their support for the sports tourism industry and for hosting major events such as the Winter Games in 2018.

The news also gives a timely boost to Garmisch-Partenkirchen where the prestigious FIS World Ski Championships will be held in 2011.

The service was opened in style when German ski stars Christian Neureuther, Rosi Mittermaier and Martina Ertl-Renz became the first passengers.

Willy Bogner, Manager and CEO for the Munich 2018 Bid: “The Kandahar Express is an important investment for the future. It further establishes Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a superb winter sports region, offering benefits for the 2011 FIS World Ski Championships, Munich’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 and tourism in the region. It also complements our aim to make the Games as spectator-friendly as possible.”

The ´Kandahar Express`gives easy access to the three kilometre long Kandahar slope, which will stage most of the races during the World Championships. The re-built and modernised track was re-opened a year ago.

Munich’s application to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games reflects the region’s enduring affinity with winter sports and its focus on protecting the environment in which winter sports are held.

The Games concept is based on sustainability and the short distances between innovative sports venues and its environmentally friendly Olympic Villages in Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Ice sport will be staged in Munich while Alpine events will be in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In addition the artificial ice rink at Königssee will be used.

The Bid Committee has developed a comprehensive environmental concept which is designed to set new standards for the Games.

Background

Together with Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the district of Berchtesgadener Land, Munich is applying for the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH, Munich’s application body, with its CEO Willy Bogner and managing directors Richard Adam and Bernhard Schwank is working on and executing the application. Partners of the application body include the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB, German Olympic Sports Confederation) with a 51 per cent share, the state capital of Munich (30 per cent), the state of Bavaria (9 per cent), the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipality (eight per cent) and the district of Berchtesgadener Land (two per cent). The application is supported by its national sponsors BMW Group, Flughafen München GmbH and Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, and by the national outfitters Deloitte, GfK Association, Messe München GmbH and Stadtwerke München GmbH. For those interested, information on the concept, the application process and further details can be found online at www.muenchen2018.org.

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Keywords · Munich 2018 · Olympic Bids ·

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