Merkel, who will not be here for the final vote at the IOC Session next Wednesday (July 6), said in her letter, which was addressed to more than 100 delegates, that the Olympic bid was a "national affair" for the Germans "of significant importance".

Merkel, who will be represented here in South Africa by German President Christian Wulff and Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, stressed that all of Germany's political parties were behind the bid.

"We want to invite the world to be our guest," she said at the end of the letter.

Germany, the most successful winter sports nation in the 87-year history of the Winter Olympics, having won a total of 358 medals, including 128 gold, since making their debut at St Moritz in 1928, have not hosted the Games since Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is due to host the snow events if Munich's bid is successful on this occasion and the fact that Germany has not staged the Winter Olympics for so long has become a key message of their campaign.

"I competed so many times on these slopes - my home ground - and I will never forget that atmosphere," said Christian Neureuther, a Munich 2018 ambassador who competed in three Olympics and is lifelong resident of Garmisch-Partenkirchen."

"The cheering, the songs, the cowbells... just incredible.

"And I was lucky enough to compete at three Winter Games, in 72, 76 and 80.

"But I never had the chance to mix that buzz of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with that special magic of the Olympic Games.

"In fact, now 10 generations of athletes haven't had that chance.

"I really hope we get the opportunity to put that right at Munich 2018 and create an unforgettable moment of Winter Games history."

Neureuther was supported by his son, Felix, who was also born and raised in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.


"I competed at the FIS World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen this year and you could just feel how much it meant to the town, and to Bavaria and Germany," said Felix Neureuther (pictured).

"As an athlete, it was a fantastic experience - the facilities, the set-up, the volunteers, all perfect.

"For me, that makes it all the more amazing that it's been 80 years since we had a Winter Games in Germany.

"I really hope I can compete in front of my home crowd at Munich 2018."

The battle between Munich and Pyeongchang is becoming increasingly close with Norway's Gerhard Heiberg, the head of the IOC's Marketing Commission and the organiser of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, claiming that several members are still undecided on who to vote for.

"Everybody is waiting for the presentations and most people have not made up their minds," he told Associated Press.

Heiberg's analysis is one that is shared by Denis Oswald, the chairman of the London 2012 Coordination Commission and another member of the IOC's ruling Executive Board.

"I think it's still close," he told Associated Press.

"Munich is certainly a very strong challenger.

"We would be sure they would have an excellent organisation."

Oswald, the head of FISA, the world rowing governing body, is planning to abstain from the vote to avoid accusations of a conflict of interests after his organisation signed a sponsorship deal with Samsugng, a South Korean company who are also one of the Olympics worldwide sponsors. 

But he is expecting a fascinating contest where the IOC must choose whether to go to a traditional market like Germany or break new ground and go to Asia for only the third time in the history of the Winter Olympics and the first time outside Japan.

"For me, it's a sports/political decision," Oswald told Associated Press. 

"It's mainly whether you take this opportunity to open winter sport to a new continent.

"It would be pretty much in the spirit of Rio [who were awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics]."

The only thing that anyone seems to agree on is that Annecy are too far off the pace to challenge. 

"The Annecy bid is not bad at all, but they had a bad start and it was difficult to catch up," admitted Oswald.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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