Munich Hope German Financial Advantages Help Win ’18 Bid

As Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics enters a critical phase at SportAccord this week, Corporate Germany is set to throw its full weight in support of the campaign.

Presentations are scheduled tomorrow, April 7, for Munich and its rivals, Annecy and Pyeongchang to lobby for support with only three months left to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Durba on July 6, where the host city will be chosen. 

Munich is trying to entice voters by claiming that it will be a financial boost for the future of winter sports with chair Katarina Witt revealing that companies including BMW and Audi pay a total of US$3.7bn a year in sports sponsorship in Germany.

According to Witt, half of the sponsorship revenues of the seven Olympic international winter sports federations comes from German companies, stating: “This shows how much German companies are behind winter sports,”

Germany’s leading role in sports sponsorship is expected to figure prominently in Munich’s official presentation and Witt said Ian Robertson, BMW’s head of sales and marketing, will be part of the presentation focusing on the “business side.”

“German companies bring in about 50 per cent of the sponsorships for the winter sports international federations. This is why we have Ian Robertson here to join our delegation.”