By Duncan Mackay

Munich would be the first city to host the Summer and Winter Olympic Games if its bid for 2022 is successfulSeptember 30 - Munich today took another major step towards launching a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics when the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) formally backed the idea.


But the Bavarian capital, which failed to land the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics after losing to South Korea's Pyeongchang, will have to wait for a referendum on November 10, which is only four days before the deadline for candidates to submit their interest to the IOC.

Should Munich be elected by the IOC at its Session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015, it would be the first city to be awarded Summer and Winter Olympics, having hosted the Games in 1972.

The 98 member organisations of the DOSB, who claim to represent a total of 27.8 million members, backed the bid at a meeting led by Verena Bentele, a 12-time Paralympic gold medallist, in Munich. 

Besides Munich, referendums are also due be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the counties of Berchtesgaden and Traunstein, where some events would take place.

Any bid would be based on Munich's unsuccessful plans for 2018, although some amendments have been made. 

The most significant of these is holding the aerials and halfpipe at the Olympic Park built for the 1972 Olympics and which continues to host a series of major sporting and social events. 

Another change would see biathlon and cross country skiing events being moved from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Ruhpolding and into the county Traunstein, making using of an existing venue which held the 2012 World Championships and stages and stages an annual World Cup.

Ruhpolding in Traunstein would host the biathlon in the Olympics and Paralympics under new plans proposed by Munich 2022Ruhpolding in Traunstein would host the biathlon in the Olympics and Paralympics under new plans proposed by Munich 2022

The adaptations mean that the 2018 two park concept with a stand alone sliding centre venue in Königssee  would turn into a three park concept with an ice cluster in Munich, snow cluster in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and a endurance and sliding zone in Chiemgau-Königssee.

"We would like to offer the most sustainable Olympic Winter Games in history, using an existing Olympic Park and many existing world-class venues such as the ski tracks and the ski jumping hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the biathlon venue in Ruhpolding and the sliding centre in Schönau/Königssee," said Hans-Peter Krämer, who has replaced Thomas Bach as acting President of the DOSB following his election as new head of the IOC.

"We are confident that the referendum on November 10 will end in favour of the bid and we hope to convince the IOC afterwards.

"Choosing Munich as host for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2022 would be historic because it would be the first city to host Summer and Winter Games in history."

But Munich could face opposition for that honour from Barcelona, hosts of the 1992 Olympics and Paralympics, who are also considering a bid following Madrid's unsuccessful campaign to host the 2020 Games.

So far the only confirmed entrant into the race is Almaty from Kazakhstan but Lviv in Ukraine, Norwegian capital Oslo and a joint Polish-Slovakia bid centred on Krakow are expected to bid.

There could also be bids from Sweden, possibly Stockholm, and Harbin in China.

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