Munich - a city of sports Since the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Bavarian capital has belonged in the top league of European sports metropolises. Munich is the home of three professional football clubs, including FC Bayern. Munich was the chief venue for the 1974 Football World Cup, and will be again in 2006 in the new football arena at Fröttmaning. Up to December 2002 the Olympic Park alone, the center for amateur and professional sports, could look back on further championships in a range of disciplines - 30 at world, 12 at European, and 84 at national level - and additionally on international events such as in Track and Field, the Grand Prix Finals, and the Golden League. In August 2002 the Olympic Stadium was host to the European Track and Field Championships. As a permanent Olympic center, Munich guarantees first-class conditions at all its venues and the expertise of its infrastructure for conducting sports competitions. In addition to the world class competitions, the diversity of Munich's athletic interests is made evident by events and tournaments every year: the 6-day bike race, relay-, half- and city marathons, swimming festivals, riding tournaments, tennis, golf, rowing regattas, canoe-polo, ice hockey, figure skating, mountain biking, basketball, street-ball, beach volleyball, inline-skating nights for a wide public, snowboarding, judo, rock climbing, and much more. The unique landscape and architecture of the Olympic Park, which has so far attracted more than 147 million registered visitors, contribute to Munich's attractiveness as a city of sports. This park, with its Olympic Stadium, Olympic Swimming Hall, Olympic Ice-Sport Center, and additional sports facilities, is at the heart of a larger Olympic complex which includes the Olympic Village, and the Central University Sports Center. Surrounding the track and field stadium with its daring tent-roof construction, the landscape of the park has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the world's cultural heritage. Thanks to its transparent architecture and the deliberate lack of pompousness during the "friendly games of 1972", the stadium itself became a symbol both of the city, and even more so of the tolerance and open-mindedness of a whole country. eurogames munich 2004 corporate communication blumenstr. 28 d-80331 münchen +49 (0)89 59043-691 tel +49 (0)89 59043-690 fax press@eurogames.info e.mail Further information and material for the press at www.eurogames.info/2004 Sascha C. Falk Mrotzek Press spokesman Tel. +49 (0)172 8542512 sascha.mrotzek@eurogames.info