Munich 2018 Strengths of Sport and Sponsorship Showcased

Munich, 3 May 2011: Two of Munich 2018’s core strengths were showcased on the world stage at the weekend, as the region's passion for sport and the long-term sponsorship potential in Germany were highlighted at the final of the BMW Open in the Bavarian capital.

Munich welcomed 38,000 fans for the first of five German tournaments on the 2011 ATP World Tour calendar – a record for the 33-year-old BMW Open tournament. Coming decades after Germany’s tennis-playing heyday, this all-time high represents another example of the unmatched enthusiasm for sport in the country. The BMW-sponsored event also underlined one of Munich 2018’s key offerings to the Olympic Movement: with the sports sponsorship market in Germany worth €2.6 billion annually, Munich 2018 would offer unprecedented commercial opportunities and guarantee the long-term health and sustainability of win! ter sports worldwide.

Katarina Witt, Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, reflected on the significance of the event. She said:

‘It has been a great week for Munich: once again the city has proved itself as an ideal host for a global celebration of sports at the Winter Games in 2018. The Munich BMW Open adds another success story to Germany’s impressive record of hosting mega events in a safe festival atmosphere. There have been three World Championships and 12 World Cups in sports on the Winter Games programme in Germany this season alone. That the event was sponsored by BMW, a Munich 2018 National Sponsor, is a timely reminder of the strength of Germany’s sports sponsorship market. It will be worth an estimated €22 billion between 2013 and 2020 - even without a Winter Games in Munich.’

The final of the annual tournament on Sunday highlighted the region’s incredible appetite for sport. Bayern Munich players Andreas Ottl and Mario Gomez joined thousands in support of the Bavarian local Florian Mayer as he competed for the title. Germany has supplied four of the tournament’s finalists since its 1988 inception: Philipp Kohlschreiber, Michael Stich, Rainer Schüttler and Tommy Haas.

Munich 2018 is fresh off the back of a successful trip to Doha, Qatar, for the 9th World Conference on Sport and the Environment. At the first engagement in a critical month for the Candidate City, the high profile delegation took the opportunity to promote the ground-breaking green vision of the bid. Preparations are also well underway for the all-important technical presentation to the IOC in Lausanne on 18 May 2011.

For more information, contact: www.muenchen2018.org

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

Your complete source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.