(ATR) Munich kicked off the 2018 Winter Olympic bid presentations to the IOC in Durban today.
Annecy and PyeongChang follow, with the IOC vote taking place this afternoon.
Presentation Team
IOC vice-president Thomas Bach; German President Christian Wulff; bid chair Katarina Witt; bid CEO Bernhard Schwank; vice-chair of athletes' commission Claudia Bokel, German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, Munich mayor Christian Ude; 12-time Paralympic champion Verena Bentele; Double Olympic champion Maria Hoefel-Riesch
Key Messages
Emphasise on sporting experience of Munich. Games to be held in atmosphere of Bavarian charm and warm in country with "incredible" winter sports fans with record crowds at World Cups and world championships. Use of 1972 Olympic venues shows sustainability of bid; promise of no white elephants. A bid by athletes for athletes.
Key Quotes
Bach: "Today's decision is not about how many times someone has bid or how long someone has been waiting. This decision today is about the merits." (This was an explicit reference to PyeongChang, which is bidding for a third time. He also said Germany had been waiting 80 years for the Winter Games).
Ude: "I would love to tap a big one with you tonight [barrel of beer]"
Schwank: "Winter sports revenues would greatly increase. This would greatly benefit the Olympic family, IFs and NOCs."
Wulff [speaking in German]: "Place your trust in us for the Winter Games in 2018. We will turn it into a festival of friendship for the whole world."
Witt: "We are not just promising full stadia, we guarantee full stadia."
High Points
Thomas Bach getting an early dig in about PyeongChang (see his quote above). Yodeller performs briefly to add a bit of humour to proceedings. Well-received.
Low Points
A slick presentation with no howlers or glitches. Bach apologised to IOC members for the masses of information they had received about various aspects of the bid - including elevator capacities. Joke bombed. Beckenbauer's quip about training to take part in cross-country skiing in a 2018 Games in Munich didn't go down that well.
ATR Rating
7/10 Solid pitch, ticking all the boxes for IOC members. But lacked a knock-out line or two. Will this be enough to persuade undecided IOC members who have to sit through Annecy and PyeongChang before vote?
Written by Mark Bisson
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
