Annecy, Munich and Pyeongchang were each given 10 minutes to address the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), whose members are gathered in Guangzhou for the Asian Games, which opened last night.

For Pyeongchang it was an early opportunity to try to get their campaign back on track in a region that largely backs their bid after they suffered the embarrassment of being given a warning by the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Ethics Commission.

Annecy and Munich both tried to emphasise how their strong history of staging major winter sports events gave them the edge over Pyeongchang, a market that is largely untested but which they claim offers a large untapped market for the Olympic Movement with Asia being the world's fastest growing continent, both in terms of population and economically.

Katarina Witt, the two-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist who is now the chair of Munich's bid, delivered a passionate reason for the Games to go to Munich when the IOC Session votes in Durban on July 6, 2011. 

"We are not just promising full stadiums," she told the audience.

"We guarantee full stadiums.

'The experience that we create for Athletes at the Winter Games should be the greatest experience of their lives.

"The atmosphere should be more than they have ever dreamed of.

"Full stadia, fans who cheer for everyone, a city filled with the festival spirit.

"A nation completely swept up in the celebration.

"A world fascinated by their stories and glued to their televisions. And that is exactly what your athletes will experience in Bavaria.

"Germany delivers the kind of winter sport events that inspire athletes to perform at their best."



Witt (pictured) closed the presentation with a vision of what an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Munich would mean for the entire Olympic Movement.

"Munich will create a level of global excitement about the Winter Games that will draw tens of millions of young people back to winter sports," she said.

"It will deliver a tremendous affirmation of what the Olympic Movement stands for - a celebration of athletic excellence, global friendship and mutual respect.

"That is what our Festival of Friendship represents: the promise of a stronger Olympic Movement through a Games that will simply thrill everyone."

Edgar Grospiron, chief executive of the Annecy bid, who is also an Olympic champion, having won the gold medal in the moguls at Albertville in 1992, the last time France staged the Games, invoked history, too.

He relayed the story of a 100-year-old woman who had attended the first winter games in 1924 in her hometown Chamonix, a neighbour of Annecy that would serve as a second hub if the French bid wins.

"In Chamonix, there is a lady called Hélène", he said, setting the scene.

"She was 14 when she had the privilege of attending the first Winter Olympic Games, at home, in Chamonix, in 1924.

"From those times gone by, she has kept some unforgettable memories.

"Not only did Hélène witness this historic event, but she observed the way the region was shaped by Olympism, from the depths of each valley to the highest peaks.

"As was the case in 1924, a new era stands ahead of us.

"With the wisdom that her 100 years have given her, Hélène would tell you that we stand ready to prove ourselves worthy of the trust placed in us by the Olympic Movement, to take winter sports to a new dimension.

"For the thousands of young people dreaming of athletic feats, for the champions who come from every continent to train here and for the millions of visitors who come from over 100 different countries every year, we want to mobilise all of the resources opened up by the Olympic Games to redefine our relationship with the mountains of the 21st century.

"We propose to join forces with you, devoting all of our common energy to serving the Olympic ideal that drives us every day in this noble quest: to host the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, on the slopes of Mont-Blanc."

But Grospiron's presentation was overshadowed by a video malfunction when his closing film clip stuttered and lost its audio track.

In his new video message, Jean-Claude Killy, French IOC member and triple Olympic Champion, restated his unfailing support for Annecy's bid, placing the emphasis on the concept proposed for the Games.

"We have what I consider to be an outstanding programme, and want to use it to host splendid, memorable Games, which will go down in history," he said in his message.

Pyeongchang bid chairman Cho Yang-ho, also chief executive of Korean Air, said a South Korean host would help introduce winter sports in new Asian markets.

The winter Games have only been hosted twice in Asia, both times in wealthy Japan, at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

Korean Olympic Committee President Park Yong-sung described the bid committee's ongoing programme to promote winter sports by bringing children to Pyeongchang.

The seven-year-old "Dream Programme" has already drawn some 800 children from 42 countries across the world, he claimed.

"A Winter Games in PyeongChang will create a new market for winter sports in Asia, home to 60 per cent of the world's population," said Cho.

"It would be an honour for us to host the Winter Games in 2018, and we would commit to creating Asia's first long-term and sustainable winter sport legacy, offering the Olympic Movement and winter sports new growth and new potential, a world of 'New Horizons'."

Pyeongchang's campaign was recently hurt by a sponsorship deal between Korean Air and the International Skating Union that raised conflict-of-interest issues.

The IOC issued a warning to Pyeongchang and warned the other bidders to "fully respect the codes of conduct."

Park shrugged off the warning, blaming the problematic deals on "miscommunication," and expressed confidence about strong support from Asian IOC members.

"It's a minor thing," he told Associated Press.

"We have some concerns, but we're going to be careful about these kinds of things in the future."

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