New Year's Day saw the annual Four Hills Ski Jumping World Cup tournament on Garmisch-Partenkirchen's dramatic 'Olympiaschanze' ski jump.

Today, Munich's iconic Olympic Park was the venue for the first ever parallel slalom event where athletes could collect points for their FIS World Cup ranking, pitching the world's finest alpine skiers one-on-one in a series of knock-out duels.

As well as bringing together tens of thousands of fervent winter sports fans in the buzzing stadiums and millions more in front of televisions across the continent, this weekend's carnival of top-class competition was an excellent opportunity for Munich 2018 to demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the region's unparalleled experience and expertise in hosting international winter sports events.

Katarina Witt, the chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, underlined the New Year boost to the Bavarian capital's host city credentials.

'This weekend's wonderful events show the power and passion of winter sport that exists already in Germany," she said.

"But the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Königssee would raise this unique platform to the highest possible level.

"Munich 2018's Festival of Friendship would be the ultimate stage for delivering the thrill of winter sports to an entire generation of young people in Europe and beyond, who might otherwise be lost to sport forever."

More than 22,000 fans cheered on the cream of ski jumping talent in Garmisch-Partenkirchen's atmospheric, purpose-built stadium and they were joined by another 5.28 million watching on television - 150,000 more than in 2010 and a 27.9 per cent audience share.



The slalom event in Munich's Olympic Park was the first of its kind to award FIS World Cup points for overall ranking.

Not only were the organisers blazing a trail in winter sports staging, with the innovative head-to-head format proving a massive hit with the 25,000 fans watching on-site, the event, German officials claimed, also offered a glimpse at how Munich 2018 has its sights set on breaking new ground for the Olympic Movement.

Should Munich be awarded the chance to host the 2018 Winter Games, it will be the first time in Olympic history that the legacy of a summer Olympic venue will be converted for winter Olympic use and powerful confirmation of the IOC's position at the global forefront for sustainability best practice, they claimed.

The Olympic Lake was drained and transformed into a spectator area, allowing fans an uninterrupted view of the 200 metre Olympic Hill course.

"This sporting spectacular demonstrates how Munich will provide the Olympic Movement with an incredible opportunity to host a new kind of mega event: a massive, global Festival of Friendship - a celebration of sport and humanity in a peaceful, secure and inclusive environment," said Christian Ude, the Lord Mayor of Munich.

At both of this weekend's events, Munich 2018's sports ambassadors came to the fore.

Not only were Maria Riesch, Felix Neureuther, Martin Schmitt and Michael Uhrmann all competing at the very highest level; they also took the opportunity to explain to their fellow athletes the experience they could expect at a Winter Games in Munich.


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