(ATR) IOC Vice President Thomas Bach says the bid from Munich for the 2018 Winter Olympic s is not facing financial trouble, telling Around the Rings that a third of the budget is already in place.
"The city of Munich and the state of Bavaria will deliver private financing. I don't see a problem. So far more than €10 million [$13m] has already been secured and the rest is more or less in the pipeline," he tells Around the Rings.
Bach confirmed that Munich required about $39 million to fund its bid activities in the run-up to the 2011 vote on the 2018 Olympic host city.
Despite recent comments from Munich's Mayor Christian Ude suggesting the economic crisis was affecting the sponsorship drive, Bach insisted negotiations were under way to secure the necessary finance from private partners.
"There is no reason to be worried," said Bach, who is also president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation.
In comments to ATR last month, bid chief executive Richard Adam also expressed confidence the money would be found to fund efforts to make Munich the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Bach said Bernhard Schwank, the new manager for the bid company, would work closely with Adam and city and regional governments to attract private finance.
"The next step is to prepare the bid book properly and this process is very well under way. We have a very clear and compact concept and this will now be further developed in the coming months," Bach said.
The German bid calls for Munich to hold ice events, with snow events to be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, site of the 1936 Winter Games, and sliding events in Koenigssee.
Munich is expected to face strong competition from PyeongChang in the race for 2018. The Korean city may launch its third attempt for the Winter Olympics with a 2018 bid later this year. France plans to unveil its 2018 bid city in March, while China is also poised to enter the race.
Bach declined to comment on the challenge posed by Munich's potential competitors. "Decisions have not been taken yet. We will concentrate on the Munich bid and try to present a good bid. That's our task, not to start speculation about others," he said.
The race for the 2018 Olympics formally begins after the IOC selects the 2016 Olympic host at the Session in Copenhagen, Denmark on Oct. 2.
The IOC deadline for submitting applicant cities is mid-October. An Applicant City Seminar is scheduled to take place in Lausanne in December.
The IOC will vote on the host city at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa in July 2011.
With reporting from Mark Bisson.
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