[4] Munich's bid head was figure skating superstar Katarina Witt, replacing skiing star/filmmaker/entrepreneur Willy Bogner, Jr.[5] who had to step down for health reasons.

In the district of Berchtesgadener Land, located in close proximity of the border to Salzburg, Austria, the historic Koenigssee Sliding Center was renovated for the World Championships in 2011 for hosting bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.

As a replacement, a state-owned stud near Ohlstadt was chosen, which is located 200 meters lower than Oberammergau and more often than not is snow free in February.

[8] On February 22, 2011, land owners in Garmisch-Partenkirchen supporting the 'Nolympia' initiative began collecting signatures under efforts to force a vote to decide whether the town would back the bid.

Another goal is to finally show that the alleged "huge majority" [of support] for the Olympic Winter Games is a myth," he added.

It is a good team on the bid committee and Germany is a big winter sports country used to organizing competitions."

The then-IOC vice-president Thomas Bach insisted that 2018 was a good time for the IOC and Olympic Movement to bring the Games to the traditional winter sports city of Munich to "recharge the batteries after having been to new regions, with 2014 to Sochi and 2016 to Rio".

[13] German chancellor Angela Merkel said Munich had a "very good chance" of winning the race to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"[14] In addition to its historical strength as a passionate winter sports nation,[15] figure skating superstar Katarina Witt promoted the bid,[16] as well as 2010 Winter Olympics star alpine skier Maria Riesch and Olympic champion Bavarian biathlete Magdalena Neuner.