Lufthansa Adds Wings to Munich’s Bid to Host 2018 Olympics

Lufthansa is a national promoter of Munich’s bid to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2018. “We are delighted to be working on a project of this nature alongside other big names in German industry – particularly companies from this part of Germany,” Lufthansa Supervisory Board Chairman Jürgen Weber said at a press conference held today at Munich Airport. “Thanks also to Munich Airport, Munich and Upper Bavaria are ideally equipped to host the Winter Olympics. Lufthansa – with strong support from Bavaria, the city of Munich and the region – has developed the airport into one of the leading air traffic hubs in Europe,” he added. Willy Bogner, CEO of the Munich 2018 Olympic Bid Company, commented: “As an international brand, Lufthansa can bring fresh impetus to the bid and carry our vision of staging friendly Winter Games out into the world.” Christian Ude, Mayor of the Bavarian capital, Munich, noted: “With its international connections, Lufthansa contributes a great deal towards making Germany an open and cosmopolitan society – and the Olympic Games will further bolster the country’s image. Lufthansa can raise Germany’s profile on literally every continent in the world and thereby strengthen our bid.” “Lufthansa has close ties with the world of sport in Germany,” stressed Thomas Bach, President of the German Olympic Sports Federation and Chairman of the Shareholders’ Association of the Munich 2018 Olympic Bid Company.

Lufthansa – the “Airline for Sport” – has been involved in sports partnerships for many years. Germany’s flagship carrier is a co-partner of the German Olympic Sports Federation and the German Sports Association for the Disabled. The company is also a national promoter of the German Sports Aid Foundation and is a longstanding partner of the German Football Association and FC Bayern Munich. As a national promoter of Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, Lufthansa will contribute financially towards the application phase until 2011 and also provide transport and communication services. Three Lufthansa aircraft bearing the names “München”, “Bayern” and “Garmisch-Partenkirchen” will carry the OBC logo out into the world.

Background
Munich – along with Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Berchtesgadener Land region – is bidding to host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2018. The Munich 2018 Olympic Bid Company (OBC) headed by Richard Adam and Bernhard Schwank will put together and carry out the bid. Shareholders of the company are the German Olympic Sports Federation (OSB), which has a 51 per cent stake, the Bavarian capital Munich (30 per cent), the State of Bavaria (nine per cent), the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (eight per cent) and the Berchtesgadener Land region (two per cent). The bid is backed by the national promoters the BMW Group, the Munich Airport operator (FMG) and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe as well as by the Munich Trade Fair Company and Stadtwerke München. Information about the concept, the progress of the bid and many other details are available at www.muenchen2018.org.