DECISION 2018: Munich stage late rally as Olympic host election tightens
MUNICH are hoping to steal a move from London 2012's playbook ahead of the host city election for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
UPBEAT: Members of the Munich 2018 bid team are displaying increasing confidence in Durban, venue for the host city election (Munich 2018)
The Korean city of Pyeongchang, who have previously lost out to last year's hosts Vancouver and 2014 venue Sochi, have long been frontrunners as they bid to make it third time lucky.
But Munich have gained impressive ground in recent weeks, their bid chairman, former figure skating queen Katarina Witt, playing the Seb Coe role to perfection, dazzling International Olympic Committee with the same grace and charm that won her famous golds in Sarajevo and Calgary.
Six years ago London's bid team arrived in Singapore as outsiders and left triumphant, gambling their strategy on last-minute schmoozing of IOC members, a strong legacy message and a powerful presentation.
Munich's bid team have a swagger and confidence about them that suggests they believe it will be tight and seasoned observers have started labelling a race that once appeared a certainty as 'too close to call'.
Recent stumbles, such as the narrow vote of residents in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the proposed venue for snow events, to support the Games have been forgotten or spun into insignificance.
Even one of the major flaws of Munich's bid, the fact that the Black Sea Russian resort of Sochi hosts in 2014 has been downplayed.
The International Olympic Committee don't have a rotation policy in place, even if recent history proves they do unofficially, but German IOC member Thomas Bach, a frontrunner to succeed current President Jacques Rogge in 2013, remains optimistic.
"This whole election is about the quality of bids - that is the only factor in my opinion," he insisted.
"Timing is everything and there is a current cycle and that cycle, people have realised, comes out for Munich.
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2018 OLYMPIC ELECTION TIMELINE - 6TH JULY 2011 7.45 – 8.55 a.m. 9.25 – 10.35 a.m. 11.05 – 12.15 p.m. 2.35–4.50 p.m. 4–4.30 p.m. 5–5.45 p.m. All times UK BST |
"We've got quality rivals but we believe we've got the quality bid too. We all feel just like before an Olympic final. The training has gone well, and now you want to go out and win."
Heads of state and politicians from all bidding countries are pressing the flesh in Durban but Munich, who would be the first city to stage both the summer and winter Games, have even drafted in a Kaiser.
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has been boosting morale with stories of the election to stage the 2006 World Cup, when his German bid overcame hot favourites South Africa to win by a single vote.
"I hope the decision is not made yet - my sense is that it has not been," he said.
But Pyeongchang's persistence could still be rewarded, Australia famously bidding with Brisbane and Melbourne for the 1992 and 1996 summer Games before Sydney landed the prize in 2000.
Patience is more than a virtue in these matters, playing the long game often reaps dividends.
It means the smart money remains on the side of a city, 110 miles east of Seoul, that believes a decision in their favour could transform it into 'the winter sports hub of Asia'.
Olympic figure skating Kim Yu-Na is their star turn while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has been lobbying hard since the weekend.
"After the last two Olympic bids we learned and listened to the IOC family and the members," said Pyeongchang bid leader Cho Yang-ho.
"The difference with this bid is seven out of the 13 venues are complete, which means we are not just showing people the drawing board. We are showing them physical venues."
The French lakeside resort of Annecy is the third party in this election - and like most third parties it looks like the best they can hope for is a good showing that spares them any embarrassment.
However, if romance is not dead among the IOC electorate, the French bid is surely worthy of some consideration.
Many view the 1994 Games in Lillehammer as the best Winter Olympics in recent history, the small Norwegian resort offering a more authentic winter sports experience.
Since then it's been the preserve of big cities - Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin and Vancouver - the intimacy of previous Games believed to be a thing of the past.
"There is no big favourite or underdog," insists Annecy bid leader Charles Beigbeder. "It's a three-horse race. We are doing everything we can to win."
On Wednesday, each city will have 45 minutes for its presentation, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers. Munich will go first, followed by Annecy and Pyeongchang - an order, in elections were the smallest detail is analysed, seen as in the Koreans favour.
The IOC membership will then proceed to a secret ballot, with a majority of votes required for victory. Ninety-six members will be eligible to vote in the first round, with 49 votes needed to win. If no majority is reached, the city with the fewest votes will be eliminated, and a second round would be held.
If after the first round of voting there is a clear winner, that would make Pyeongchang white-hot favourites to be revealed as hosts in a globally televised ceremony just over one hour later, if voting goes to the second round and Annecy's backers get to recast their preference, Munich could be right in the mix.
© Sportsbeat 2011
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