POSTED: Monday June 27th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP IN GERMANY SMASHING RECORDS

All-time highs for spectators and TV audience on first night of the tournament

Munich, 27 June 2011: The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, which kicked off last night, is already attracting unprecedented levels of support from all over the world and reinforcing Munich 2018’s promise to deliver full stadia buzzing with passionate, knowledgeable crowds for the Winter Games.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup final is already sold out, as was last night’s opener. A European record crowd for a women’s football match of nearly 74,000 was at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, including Germany’s Head of State, President Christian Wulff, and Chancellor Angela Merkel. In total, 80% of the tickets, around 700,000, have already been sold. All 32 matches will be broadcast live on German television. Germany’s previous audience record for a women’s football match of 10.4 million viewers was smashed last night, with 14.1 million people, a 58% market share, tuning in to watch the hosts’ 2-1 victory over Canada. A recent FIFA survey found that 86% of people in Germany intend to watch some coverage of the World Cup.

Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Katarina Witt, explained what makes Germany such an attractive host country:

‘Women’s football has a strong base here in Germany, so the organisers can guarantee passionate crowds, an incredible TV spectacle and, fingers crossed, a great performance from the home team - just what athletes, fans and sponsors want. And because we have that strong base, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany will be an excellent platform for raising the profile of women’s football all over the world and inspiring a generation of young athletes to play and stay in sport.

‘Munich 2018’s Festival of Friendship will have exactly the same energising effect on every sport on the Winter Games programme. An Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Germany would revitalise the worldwide winter sports movement, with an unforgettable sporting spectacle, unprecedented commercial revenues and greater global exposure than ever before.’

Germany are the current FIFA Women’s World Cup holders and will be among the favourites to retain their title on home turf. This is thanks in part to a youth sport system that has seen a remarkable boom in women’s football in Germany in recent years: there are now over one million female players registered with the German Football League.

Steffi Jones, President of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 Organising Committee, commented:

‘It would be great to have the Olympic and Paralympic Games back in Germany after such a long time. Knowing Germany's passion for sports and its enthusiastic fans, one can imagine what a fantastic event Germany could offer to the athletes and the Olympic Movement.’

Bernhard Schwank, CEO of Munich 2018, underlined the importance of Germany’s rich sporting heritage to the Bavarian capital’s Winter Games bid:

‘The athlete has been at the heart of every single planning decision we have made. We’ve been able to put together a uniquely athlete-friendly concept because we have been in constant consultation with our 125 sports ambassadors, and because Germany has such enormous experience in hosting sports mega-events - we really know all the little things that make a big difference to an athlete’s experience. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the latest in a long, illustrious list of international competitions in Germany, and we’ve worked hard to incorporate the lessons we’ve learned from every single one of them.’

The impressive numbers expected at the FIFA Women’s World Cup will cement Munich 2018’s promise of a truly unique offering to the Olympic Movement. Final preparations are underway for the pivotal presentation to the Olympic family at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban on 6 July, and the mood in the Munich 2018 camp is highly optimistic.

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 · FIFA Womens World Cup · Thomas Bach · Katarina Witt · Bernhard Schwank

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

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