Mexico: The race to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics began in earnest when bid cities Munich, South Korea's Pyeongchang and France's Annecy made their first official pitches at a meeting of Olympic associations.
Two-time Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt fronted Munich's bid on Thursday, highlighting modern transport links.
Annecy followed, pledging a compact bid and featuring a video message of support from France first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Pyeongchang was considered an early favorite to stage the games after unsuccessful bids for the last two Winter Olympics.
Munich's bid hit problems with Bavarian farmers unhappy about giving up land to be used during the games, though organizers said after the meeting that those issues were under control.
"This will be one of the most vibrant and celebratory atmospheres in the history of winter sports," Witt said.
Munich's bid featured a video message of support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the games would offer "an unforgettably wonderful experience."
"I'm really excited that we had the first presentation because, after talking about it for so many months, we finally had a chance to see and prove with the pictures and the film what our assets are," she said.
"You will never have a 100 percent agreement, there will always be people with a different point of view, but it's important to discuss and talk things through," she said. "We are bidding for the Olympics-- everybody should be for that.
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a former model, lent a touch of glamor to the Annecy bid.
Sitting in an armchair and wearing a light blue, low-cut V-neck blouse, Bruni-Sarkozy confirmed the French government's backing in a short video and said it would be an "honor" to stage the games.
Jean-Pierre Vidal, the 2002 Olympic slalom champion backing Annecy said that early criticism about venues being too far apart had been overcome.
"This is now a very compact bid," Vidal said. "Previous games often go to big cities, but sometimes in a big city it is difficult to get a strong atmosphere.
"In Annecy everybody will be in the same place and the excitement will be easy to produce."
Annecy's bid includes events in the small city of Annecy and the Alpine resort of Chamonix, near Mont Blanc.
"If we are just talking about the games as an experience for athletes and spectators this is a very strong bid," Vidal said.
Besides Vidal, Annecy's bid was chaired by 1992 mogul skiing champ Edgar Grospiron, with 1992 downhill gold medalist Antoine Deneriaz also on the team.
"We have all competed in different Olympics and we are working with the technical team to tell them what is good and what is not so good about the plans right from the beginning," Vidal said.
Grospiron said the Annecy proposal offered a "unique mountain experience" and also focused on the revised bid's "compactness" during the presentation, which takes the motto, "Snow, Ice and You."
Cho Yang-ho, the chief executive of Korean Air who is leading Pyeongchang's bid, said the South Korean venue had "learned many lessons" from its previous unsuccessful bids.
"Our will to host the games has grown stronger," he said, introducing the "New Horizons" slogan.
In an apparent nod to the Olympic ideals of peace and friendship, slides for the Pyeongchang presentation referred to the country as "Korea," rather than "South Korea" or "Republic of Korea."
South Korea is still technically at war with neighbouring North Korea, and despite sporadic attempts to reconcile the countries, the current relationship is still frosty.
Two-time Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt fronted Munich's bid on Thursday, highlighting modern transport links.
Annecy followed, pledging a compact bid and featuring a video message of support from France first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Pyeongchang was considered an early favorite to stage the games after unsuccessful bids for the last two Winter Olympics.
Advertisement
Munich's bid hit problems with Bavarian farmers unhappy about giving up land to be used during the games, though organizers said after the meeting that those issues were under control.
Advertisement
"This will be one of the most vibrant and celebratory atmospheres in the history of winter sports," Witt said.
Advertisement
Munich's bid featured a video message of support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the games would offer "an unforgettably wonderful experience."
Advertisement
"I'm really excited that we had the first presentation because, after talking about it for so many months, we finally had a chance to see and prove with the pictures and the film what our assets are," she said.
Advertisement
"You will never have a 100 percent agreement, there will always be people with a different point of view, but it's important to discuss and talk things through," she said. "We are bidding for the Olympics-- everybody should be for that.
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a former model, lent a touch of glamor to the Annecy bid.
Sitting in an armchair and wearing a light blue, low-cut V-neck blouse, Bruni-Sarkozy confirmed the French government's backing in a short video and said it would be an "honor" to stage the games.
Jean-Pierre Vidal, the 2002 Olympic slalom champion backing Annecy said that early criticism about venues being too far apart had been overcome.
"This is now a very compact bid," Vidal said. "Previous games often go to big cities, but sometimes in a big city it is difficult to get a strong atmosphere.
"In Annecy everybody will be in the same place and the excitement will be easy to produce."
Annecy's bid includes events in the small city of Annecy and the Alpine resort of Chamonix, near Mont Blanc.
"If we are just talking about the games as an experience for athletes and spectators this is a very strong bid," Vidal said.
Besides Vidal, Annecy's bid was chaired by 1992 mogul skiing champ Edgar Grospiron, with 1992 downhill gold medalist Antoine Deneriaz also on the team.
"We have all competed in different Olympics and we are working with the technical team to tell them what is good and what is not so good about the plans right from the beginning," Vidal said.
Grospiron said the Annecy proposal offered a "unique mountain experience" and also focused on the revised bid's "compactness" during the presentation, which takes the motto, "Snow, Ice and You."
Cho Yang-ho, the chief executive of Korean Air who is leading Pyeongchang's bid, said the South Korean venue had "learned many lessons" from its previous unsuccessful bids.
"Our will to host the games has grown stronger," he said, introducing the "New Horizons" slogan.
In an apparent nod to the Olympic ideals of peace and friendship, slides for the Pyeongchang presentation referred to the country as "Korea," rather than "South Korea" or "Republic of Korea."
South Korea is still technically at war with neighbouring North Korea, and despite sporadic attempts to reconcile the countries, the current relationship is still frosty.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Relatives Protest Visit By North Korea General Blamed For Warship Sinking Warm Smiles, Cold Comfort From North Korea's Olympic 'Army Of Beauties' South Korea Splurges On Kim Jong Un's Sister; Snubs Him In Broadcasts Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Full Recovery From Global IT Outage Could Take Time: 10 Points CrowdStrike: All About The Cybersecurity Giant Behind Global IT Outage UP Government Forms Lucknow-SCR On The Lines Of Delhi-NCR The Situation At Delhi, Mumbai Airports Day After Global IT Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.