The three cities bidding to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games – Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang – presented their bids at the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) in Lome, Togo on Tuesday.
Munich’s delegation included bid committee chair Katarina Witt, DOSB President Thomas Bach and bid committee CEO Bernhard Schwank, who were joined on stage by Achim Ecke, one of Germany’s finest international coaches and Lenwi Karba, one of Togo’s most promising rising stars in managing and coaching athletics.
Karba described his long personal affinity with German sport. He said, “through the programs offered by Munich 2018, the hugely successful training camps concept, which we saw for the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, will be expanded, and there will be more study scholarships for coaches, athletics, administrators and sports scientists”.
Bach called on the delegates to support Munich’s 2018 bid and in doing so, guarantee more life changing sporting friendships for the next generation.
He said, “I am deeply convinced that Munich 2018 will deliver great benefits to each of your NOCs. Let us renew our historic sports and cultural partnership through Munich 2018. Let us build an even stronger future together, for the benefit of millions of young Africans across the next generation. With your support, we are looking forward to welcoming you to our Festival of Friendship in 2018; a genuine and true celebration of the magic of the Olympic Winter Games, in an atmosphere that we will all cherish together and never, ever, forget”
The Annecy 2018 delegation included Charles Beigbeder, President of Annecy 2018, Jean-Pierre Vidal, the public interest group’s Vice President, and Denis Masseglia, President of the French National Olympic Committee.
Beigbeder said in his presentation, “Annecy wants to share its spectacular mountains, its hospitality and its passion for sport so that the 2018 Winter Games inspire the whole world, especially young people. Annecy is a bid which is open to the world and all of its people. It is because of these very principles that France was one of the first countries in the world to implement an international sporting cooperation policy, particularly in Africa”.
Vidal said, “environmental concerns – the third pillar of Olympism alongside sport and education – are at the very heart of our bid. We want the Annecy 2018 Games to accelerate the transformation of our winter sport resorts so that they become more eco-friendly and make better use of the natural resources of our mountains”.
PyeongChang 2018 highlighted how its bid would help National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in areas of the world like Africa and Asia develop more winter sports athletes and fans, and expand the overall winter sports industry in new markets.
The bid committee, led by Chairman and CEO Yang Ho Cho, outlined the goals for the bid which are to create new opportunities for winter sports in areas of the world where they are underdeveloped; create an athlete-friendly Winter Games through the most compact and efficient venue layout; organize a successful Winter Games based on Korea’s experience in hosting major events and the nation’s growing passion for winter sports; and create the most modern and sustainable winter sports hub in Asia to serve athletes for generations to come.
Yuna Kim, reigning Olympic Champion for Ladies Figure Skating and a member of PyeongChang 2018’s Athletes Committee, outlined that PyeongChang has been working for almost 10 years to develop the ideal Winter Games plan. She said the bid would commit to ensuring all Olympic teams have access to training facilities and venues prior to the Winner Games; provide ample accommodation for all additional team officials; ensure that the Olympic Village Plaza has plenty of fun and interesting activities for all Olympians; make free WiFi available at all Olympic sites, including all residential and common areas of the Olympic Villages; and guaranty that NOCs are treated fairly with operational matters and costs with PyeongChang’s Rate Card program.
