POSTED: Monday July 4th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MUNICH 2018: A GREEN GAMES IN A CITY OF FESTIVALS

Opening press conference centres on sustainability concept and Munich as a cosmopolitan capital of culture

Durban, 3 July 2011: Munich 2018 today held the first in its series of press conferences in Durban, as the Bid Committee continues to reiterate why now is the right time for the Bavarian capital’s Festival of Friendship.

On stage in front of close to 100 international journalists were Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian Ude; CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Bernhard Schwank; and Director General of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and Chair of the Munich 2018 Supervisory Board, Michael Vesper.

Mayor Ude began by discussing what Munich 2018’s sustainability concept means for the city itself:

‘Munich 2018’s concept protects Bavaria’s natural treasures, but it’s also about urban sustainability. After the Games, our energy-plus Olympic Village will become affordable housing units for low income families and address a real social need. The Olympic Park has already been a centre for sports, culture and entertainment for 40 years and we want to renew that legacy.’

The Lord Mayor went on to emphasise one of the bid’s unique selling points: Munich, a cosmopolitan city of culture and festivals. He said:

‘We’re actually having a festival in Munich today: the second annual Munich Sports Festival. Last year we had nearly 40,000 people and we’re expecting at least that many again this year. There is a great mixture of sports on the Olympic programme and new, less traditional sports. It should be a great day because it combines two of the things we love to do best - sports and parties.

‘What makes Munich such a vibrant, friendly place to be is that it has so much for so many different people. Munch really does have something for every single member of the Olympic family and every single Olympic client group. It’ll be hard to fit it all in alongside the actual sports in 2018! But Munich can guarantee an unforgettable three weeks for every single guest.’

Michael Vesper, who is also a founding member of Germany’s Green Party, focused in particular on Munich 2018’s environmental concept and what it represents for the Olympic Movement:

‘Munich 2018’s environmental vision is of the first ever carbon-neutral Winter Games. We want to help set new global standards in green mega-events. 75% of the venues in our concept already exist and 24% will be temporary. Just 1% of the sports facility space will be permanently converted - less than the size of a football pitch.’

Bernhard Schwank discussed the upbeat mood in the Munich 2018 team:

‘It’s great to be here in Durban - it’s such a sports-mad city and there’s a real buzz around the IOC Session. The mood in the camp is positive and very optimistic. It’s been a long journey together, but our momentum has been building constantly and we are peaking at exactly the right time. Our first rehearsals have gone extremely well and we are hearing some very positive things. Now really is the time for Munich 2018. It’s been an amazing race and we really feel like we can cross the line in first place.'

Tomorrow at 2pm in the North Beach Hotel, Katarina Witt and Verena Bentele will discuss another of Munich 2018’s key pillars: the athlete experience.

Download

Please download the attached files here:
Picture 1
'The two things we love best - sports and parties': aspiring young sports stars send their best wishes to Durban from the second annual Munich Sports Festival. The caption reads 'The Munich Sports Festival 2011 greets Durban. We are crossing our fingers for Munich 2018!'

Picture 2
At the first Munich 2018 press conference: [from left to right] Jochen Färber, Munich 2018 Communications Director; Michael Vesper, DOSB Director General and Chair of the Munich 2018 Supervisory Board; Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian Ude; and Munich 2018 CEO, Bernhard Schwank.

Picture 3
Bernhard Schwank, Christian Ude and Michael Vesper pose with a traditional South African rickshaw.

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

# # #

---

Keywords · Munich 2018 · Thomas Bach · Katarina Witt · Bernhard Schwank · Christian Wulff

---

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

---

Please refer all questions to the company listed above issuing the press release. SFC will not be able to assist you with any inquiries and disclaims any content in these press releases.