POSTED: Sunday June 26th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MUNICH 2018'S PIONEERING VISION FOR NOC OUTREACH

Germany to share facilities and expertise with athletes and coaches the world over

Munich, 26 June 2011: A top-level Munich 2018 delegation, led by Chair, Katarina Witt, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), Thomas Bach, and CEO, Bernhard Schwank, today departed Munich for the ANOCA Extraordinary General Assembly in Lomé, Togo, with a clear mission: to communicate Munich 2018’s vision for developing athletes, coaches and sports bodies all over the world.

Munich 2018’s outreach programme is a key component of a bid designed to leave a lasting legacy for the entire Olympic Movement. Working in tandem with the DOSB, which is already engaged in 12 African countries, Munich 2018 intends to share some of the attributes that make Bavaria a global winter sports heartland with the whole Olympic family. All 205 NOC’s could benefit from the world-class sports facilities throughout Germany, sharing talent, expertise and experience as they create lasting bonds of friendship. Munich 2018 would also look to share those attributes beyond Germany and spread Olympism to non-traditional markets, especially in Africa.

Katarina Witt, Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee and two-time Olympic champion, said:

‘It is great to have the opportunity to share Munich 2018’s vision with the Olympic family this week, especially as I’m sure many of the people here may already have experienced the benefits of the DOSB’s outreach programme. We will offer opportunities to athletes and coaches from every sport and every nation; Munich 2018 is committed to using our excellent resources to help strengthen the Olympic Movement. The DOSB has been running a groundbreaking NOC outreach programme for 50 years. A total of 1,300 projects spanning 5 continents have touched the lives of over 100,000 athletes.’

The scheme is designed to benefit winter and summer athletes, coaches and federations all over the world and to help to integrate regions not directly involved in the Winter Games. The last time Germany’s elite sports facilities opened their doors, 50 national teams were offered the chance to come and prepare for the 2009 Berlin IAAF World Athletics Championships. In the build up to 2018, the programme will see German universities offer more than 700 scholarships for coaches and sports scientists, with the Federal Foreign Office supporting the initiative. Munich 2018 is working with the DOSB to create a worldwide celebration of sport by offering Germany’s state-of-the-art facilities and an athlete-friendly environment to every member of the Olympic family. 

Bernhard Schwank commented:

‘Munich 2018 understands and appreciates the importance of reaching out to NOCs around the world. We will continue to build on our strong heritage in this regard in the lead up to 2018 and we will develop tailored projects with every NOC to ensure we can meet their specific needs. Many of Germany’s National Federations, such as ice hockey, have already participated in this kind of initiative. Munich 2018’s concept is a clear commitment to the long-term health and sustainability of winter sports from one of the world’s most successful winter sports nations.’

Munich 2018’s vision for developing athletes, coaches and sports bodies all over the world will strengthen the bid at a crucial time as it enters the final stage of the campaign and continues to gain momentum ahead of the IOC host city decision on 6 July 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

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, Hubert Burda Media, 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/en.

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 · IOC · Thomas Bach · Katarina Witt · Bernhard Schwank · ANOCA

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

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