Indian Bid Still Afloat; Munich's Sustainability Bolstered; New Sponsors

Kalmadi: Delhi 2010 Betters Chances of India 2020

The beleaguered Commonwealth Games will strengthen, not compromise, a future Olympic bid, the man behind Delhi 2010 says.

Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi spoke Thursday at a sports summit in the Indian capital, insisting a successful CWG would significantly bolster his country’s shot at the Summer Games.

"The biggest legacy is Olympics," he told Turf 2010 attendees a day after reports of slow tickets sales in Delhi made headlines worldwide.

"Cricket is the most popular sport in our country, but it is played by just 10 countries. Olympics has all sports. We have to ensure that Olympics come up. This is our opportunity and will help."

The Games that open Sunday will be the largest sporting event ever held in India. Many had viewed the competition as a stepping stone to the subcontinent’s first Olympic Games.

Kalmadi, also president of the Indian Olympic Association, has for years touted India 2020 after losing the 2014 Asian Games to South Korea.

Indian media reported in early August that the IOA actually decided last year to vie for 2020, a bid that seems less and less likely by the day.

Kalmadi and his country’s government have long been at odds about when, and if, India will vie for the Games.

The Economic Times reported Thursday that India’s sports ministry remains unaware of a 2020 bid and insists any such efforts cannot move forward without the government’s blessing.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell told Around the Rings last week India is the right host for the Commonwealth Games but refused to speculate on whether Delhi 2010 has compromised India 2020.

Commission Backs Environmental Legacy of Munich Bid

Munich 2018 is defending its environmental legacy with 18 concepts put forth by a professional commission.

Michael Vesper, head of the bid’s supervisory board, said Monday the sustainability plan goes beyond just climate protection and nature conservation. The Games would also serve the future of German sport as well as the education and development of Bavaria.

Any environmental projects would be financed by the federal government, Bavarian government and city of Munich, Vesper said.

Several environmental associations have lashed out at Munich 2018 in recent months, but bid leaders are hoping the commission’s findings will put some of that criticism to rest.

No important biotopes would be touched by the Winter Games, and hardly any forest surface would be taken up, says Ralf Roth of commission partner Sport University Cologne.

Arrangements already exist for the artificial snowing of slopes, he says, and water can be supplied from the nearby Loisach River, eliminating the need for any pipelines or artificial lakes.

Most sports facilities already exist, and temporary arrangements would round out the bulk ofthe venues.

Roth says Munich 2018 would take up 168 acres during the Games but only 1.2 acres permanently, a size "smaller than a soccer field."

Bid CEO Bernhard Schwank presented the document’s main aspects for the first time Monday in Munich.

The IOC will select a 2018 host at the 2011 Session in Durban, South Africa.

New Sponsors for Annecy, Pyeongchang

The Hanhwa Group is Pyeongchang 2018’s latest backer.

The bid committee announced Wednesday that the industrial giant will be a corporate partner on South Korea’s quest to win the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Hanhwa Securities, Hanhwa Engineering & Construction and Korean Life Insurance handed bid leaders Wednesday a donation of $350,000 and promised their full support.

"PyeongChang’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will not only boost sport aroundthe region but will have a positive impact on the Korean economy and other countriesthroughout Asia," Hanhwa executive VP Il-Hyung Chang said in a statement.

Bid chair Yang Ho Cho added that more sponsorship announcements are in the pipeline.

Also Wednesday, Annecy 2018 announced AREA-Eiffage Group as its newest sponsor.

"Signing AREA-Eiffage Group, a regional motorway operator and subsidiary of a major European civil engineering group, as official partner demonstrates the extent of economic support and overall strength behind this bid to host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," Christian Monteil, chairman of the bid’s supervisory board, said in a statement.

AREA operates a 257-mile network of roads in and around the Alps, some of which link Games venues.

"The AREA-Eiffage Group motorway network is one of our bid’s core strategic transport elements, linking the French motorway network with Switzerland and Italy," bid CEO Edgar Grospiron said.

He added that the Eiffage Group will lend its expertise to the preparation of Annecy 2018’s bid book, due Jan. 11 in Lausanne.

Munich 2018 Asks Sister Regions for Help

Bavarian PM Horst Seehofer asked six sister regions from all over the world to support Munich 2018.

Seehofer arrived Tuesday in Cape Town, South Africa for a conference with heads of government from Georgia, USA; Upper Austria; Quebec, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Shandong, China and West Cape, South Africa.

The Christian Social Union leader is urging his counterparts to use all possibilities and contacts in their respective homelands to further the cause of the bid.

Should Munich win the 2018 Winter Games, Seehofer said the Bavarian capital will benefit from the experiences of its partner regions. Each has helped host an Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup in the past.

This is the fifth time the seven regions have gathered.

Written by Matthew Grayson.