POSTED: Thursday March 3rd 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MUNICH 2018 THE KEY TO €22 BILLION MARKET

IOC Evaluation Commission learns of unparalleled strength of German sports sponsorship market

Munich, 3 March 2011: Munich 2018 today drove home one of the defining strengths of its bid, highlighting to the IOC’s Evaluation Commission the unmatched potency of German sports sponsorship - a market projected to exceed €22 billion in value between 2013 and 2020.

The sports sponsorship market in Germany is worth approximately €2.6 billion annually. It is also growing at a rate of 6.3% per year, in spite of the global economic downturn. A team of Munich 2018 financial experts, drawn from the world of business and government, emphasised what this enormous economic potential means for ensuring the long-term health and sustainability for the winter sports movement globally. Germany’s corporate community is responsible for approximately 50% of all revenues of the seven Winter International Federations, including specific funding for the FIS, the IBU, the FIL and FIBT.

CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Bernhard Schwank, emphasised what this remarkable corporate commitment could mean for Munich 2018.

‘German winter sport is a really attractive marketing proposition. Full stadia at all venues make for a great atmosphere. A great atmosphere makes for great performances from the athletes, and that makes for great television. Munich 2018 will optimise all these strengths like never before and that will create the perfect environment for the business sector to continue their backing for winter sports at all levels.

The strength of the German economy will allow us to finance the Games while we build the Olympic brand through stadia full of Spectators and a global television audience excited by the magic of Munich 2018 and the extraordinary atmosphere. We believe our mission would be to strengthen the brand of the Olympic Winter Games like never before and turn it back over to the IOC as a much stronger asset for the entire Olympic Movement.’

BMW is just one of the numerous German companies who is capitalising on the huge marketing opportunities in its home country. More importantly, BMW has also identified the wealth of corporate, sports and social opportunities associated with being a committed partner of the Olympic Movement. BMW has been a national sponsor of Munich 2018’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games since June 2009. It became a Top Tier sponsor of London 2012 in November 2009 and has since then signed partnership agreements with the NOCs of the USA.

Uwe Ellinghaus, Director of Brand Steering and Brand Management at BMW, provided a compelling corporate perspective:

‘Germany is the most developed winter commercial market in the world, for sure. And Munich 2018 can be the most valuable property this market has ever seen. I am convinced that a Winter Games in Germany will spark even greater interest in multiple corporate categories and draw tremendous new resources to the Winter Games and winter sport. The Olympic Games are the living brand in sport that personifies the excellence we want our brand to be associated with.’

The 14 Evaluation Commission members heard presentations on the themes of finance, marketing, technology and media operations on the third day of the IOC Evaluation Commission visit. This week (1-4 March), the Commission will review Munich’s bid through a series of themed presentations detailing key topics, as well as a number of site visits to proposed and existing venues for the Festival of Friendship at the Winter Games in Munich in 2018.

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 Karatina 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, 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 http://www.muenchen2018.org.

Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH
Munich 2018 Bid Committee
Olympiapark München
Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21
80809 München

Responsible for contents:
Bernhard Schwank and Jürgen Bühl

Press Contact:
Simone Seefried
Agnes-Pockels-Bogen 1
80992 München
Telephone: +49 89 540428-313

Mobile: +49 176 840 532 26
E-Mail: presse@muenchen2018.org

Online Press Area:
http://www.muenchen2018.org/en/press

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Keywords · Munich 2018 · Bernhard Schwank · Olympic bidding

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Name: Simone Seefried
Organization: Munich 2018 Bid Committee
Email:
Phone: 4989540428317
URL: http://www.muenchen2018.org

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