Munich 2018 close to solving neighbour dispute 03/11/2010 |
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Munich 2018 chairman Katarina Witt has revealed that the bid has “mostly” overcome local opposition to its campaign to host the Winter Olympics.
She said a dispute with landowners in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the alpine events will be held, was “mostly solved”. The neighbours had been reluctant to give up some of their land for use in the 2018 Games.
“They were right because there wasn’t the right discussion going on at the right level,” Witt explained. “It wasn’t a bad intention. In general, it was sort of like, ‘We got the Olympics, and now everybody will do it.’ You didn’t think about, ‘Well wait, you’ve got to secure some people who own the land.’”
The German city is competing with Annecy, France, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the right to host the 2018 event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on the next hosts on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.
Witt, a two-time Olympic figure skating champion, last month became the public face of the German bid after chief executive Willy Bogner was forced to step down because of illness.
And she dismissed suggestions that Munich is at a disadvantage with members of the IOC because the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and the 2012 London Summer Olympics will also be held in the European region.
Munich, which staged the 1972 Summer Games, is seeking to become the first city to host both summer and winter editions. Pyeongchang failed to win during two previous bids.
“You have to keep your tradition, and you have to nurture your heartland, where the sport has been for many, many years,” Witt added. “We’re pretty confident we will be able to deliver magic.”
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