POSTED: Friday March 25th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR MUNICH 2018

The ‘Munich 2018 Express’ set to get Bavarians on board

Munich, 25 March 2011: Munich 2018’s mission to unite Bavaria behind its bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games gathered steam today, as national sponsor Deutsche Bahn’s ‘Munich 2018 Express’ took to the tracks on its maiden voyage across the region.

The branded passenger train will travel on the Munich - Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Munich - Salzburg routes until decision day in Durban on 6 July, canvassing support from locals along the way. Today’s launch was attended by a host of high-profile bid leaders, including Minister for the State of Bavaria, Martin Zeil, Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian Ude, Secretary General of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Michael Vesper and Olympic alpine ski icon, Christian Neureuther.

Speaking from Nouméa, New Caledonia, where he is set to perform a key role in Munich 2018’s presentation to the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) General Assembly, Bid Committee CEO Bernhard Schwank commented:

‘We are delighted at the level of committed support we’re getting from all of our corporate partners. We’ve now got 11 national sponsors, 11 national suppliers and 23 Friends of the Bid, and all of them are contributing to our shared dream - bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games back to Germany for the first time in 80 years. Deutsche Bahn shares our commitment to preserving the natural treasures of Bavaria, making them the perfect partner to help carry our message of a sustainable Festival of Friendship all over the region.’

As key as the latest initiative will be in generating widespread public enthusiasm for Munich 2018, Michael Vesper was keen to stress what the ‘Munich 2018 Express’ represents about the bid:

‘Munich 2018 has an ambitious environment and sustainability concept, so Deutsche Bahn is a very important partner for us. The ‘Munich 2018 Express’ is symbolic of the greater connection we aim to forge between the city of Munich and Bavaria’s Alpine regions, especially the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and our determination to do so sustainably. We will transport spectators from the Ice Park to the Snow Park in an environmentally friendly way. But more importantly, this green link will serve the region for generations.’

Deutsche Bahn has been active in its support of the Bavarian capital’s Winter Games bid. The ‘Munich 2018 Express’ joins a fleet of 350 trains on Munich’s S-Bahn and the regional railway all carrying the Munich 2018 logo. Passengers travelling on the distinctive trains will hear frequent announcements encouraging them to support Munich 2018. The Bid Committee has agreed a ‘combi-ticket’ scheme with Deutsche Bahn, whereby for the first time in Olympic history the price of a ticket to see an Olympic or Paralympic event will include free rail travel. Spectators travelling the 170km from Nuremburg to the Ice Park in Munich could save over €70 by using the combi-ticket rather than driving.

Christian Neureuther, a lifelong resident of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and one of Munich 2018’s most passionate advocates, was enthusiastic about the latest corporate show of support for the bid:

‘From now on, the ‘Munich 2018 Express’ will be carrying our dream of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgadener Land. In 2018, all of the venues will be directly accessible by train - that’s just one of the Olympic firsts that make our bid truly unique.’

As a company at the forefront of sustainable transport, Deutsche Bahn is an ideal partner for Munich 2018’s bid to host the first ever carbon-neutral Winter Games. If Munich 2018 achieves its target of 50% rail travel to venues, it will save about 250,000m2 of green land- or 25 football pitches - in car parking.

After this weekend’s presentation to the ONOC General Assembly, the Munich 2018 Bid Committee will continue preparations for the next key milestones in the calendar - SportAccord from 3-8 April and the crucial technical presentations to the IOC in Lausanne in May.

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Picture 1 (1 MB)

from left to right: Third Mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Hannes Krätz, Secretary General of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Michael Vesper, Deutsche Bahn Regio Bavaria, Norbert Klimt, Olympic alpine ski icon, Rosi Mittermaier, Minister for the State of Bavaria, Martin Zeil, Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian Ude and Olympic alpine ski icon Christian Neureuther

Picture 2 (1 MB)

‘Munich 2018 Express’ with Secretary General of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Michael Vesper and the Olympic alpine ski icons Rosi Mittermaier and Chrisitian Neureuther

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, 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 540428-317
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 · Katarina Witt · Bernhard Schwank · Martin Zeil · Christian Ude · Michael Vesper · Christian Neureuther

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

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