The German brand is expected to commit up to $7 million (£4 million) to the bid, an amount that takes Munich to within $15 million (£9 million) of its $40 million (£25 million) sponsorship target in a deal that is expected to be officially confirmed next week.

Adidas, an iconic brand based in Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, has close links with the Olympic Movement and their support will send a powerful message to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The company's association with the Games stretches back to Amsterdam in 1928 when Adi Dassler's shoes were worn at the Olympics for the first time.

They have since been involved in one form or another with every Olympics since, including sponsoring names like Jesse Owens, Emil Zatopek and Nadia Comaneci, and is a Tier One sponsor for London 2012.

Munich's bid is considered to be the second favourite behind Pyeongchang, who are bidding for the third consecutive time having gone twice on the two previous occasions, narrowly losing to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and Sochi 2014, and know they need the large war chest to compete against the South Korean city, whose campaign is being bankrolled by electronics giant Samsung.

Munich, who already have signed sponsorship deals with blue-chip companies Deloitte and BMW, are also close to finalising another deal with Siemens, a rival of Samsung's.

Meanwhile, Munich is taking another opportunity to showcase its bid by hosting the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup events  at Koenigssee's artificial ice track, a key venue in their bid.

The skeleton competition took place yesterday - with Britain's Shelley Rudman finishing third in the women's event behind the Canadian winner Mellisa Hollingsworth (pictured) - while today and tomorrow the stage is handed to the world's leading bobsleigh competitors who will race down the 1.2 kilometre track and around its 17 curves at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour.

The Koenigssee track is central to the Munich 2018 bid which also encompasses Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which will host Alpine events, and the city of Munich where ice competitions will be staged.

Willy Bogner, the chief executive of Munich 2018, said: "We are very proud that Koenigssee, one of Munich 2018’s iconic venues, is hosting this World Cup.

"Our use of the artificial ice track underscores the bid's focus on integrating world class existing venues with new-build facilities.

"We will only build venues when there is a long-term, sustainable need to do so.

"This combination of traditional and new winter sports facilities validates our Games concept which combines the best possible facilities with ecological compatibility.”

A Munich 2018 team are actively promoting the bid at the Koenigssee event as part of a wider strategy to leverage all World Cups and major events in Olympic winter sports staged in Germany.

In addition to the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup events, a Munich 2018 bid team will also be at work at the Biathlon World Cup event in Oberhof this weekend.

The IOC are due to host the city for 2018 at its Session in Durban on July 6, 2011.

Annecy is also bidding.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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