Acting on advice from his physician, Willy Bogner has requested he be released from his position as CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee; the Bid Committee complied with his wishes without hesitation in a telephone conference today.

However, Bogner will retain an important role in Munich's bid: he will be voted a member of the Select Supervisory Board, so that the Bid Committee can continue benefitting from his invaluable expertise in marketing and communications. DOSB President Thomas Bach, Mayor of Munich Christian Ude, Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer, Mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen Thomas Schmid, District Administrator Georg Grabner, DSV President Alfons Hörmann and DOSB Director General Michael Vesper all thanked Willy Bogner for his extraordinary commitment in the past months and expressed their respect for his difficult decision:

Munich 2018 today joined some of the world's top figures in international sport at the SPONSORs Sports Venue Summit in the Bavarian capital, as the city's influential position on the global sports stage was confirmed yet again.

The Munich 2018 Bid Committee presented its bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 at an exhibit during the summit at the Allianz Arena in Munich, which brought together hundreds of top representatives from the world's leading sporting organisations and sponsors. The high profile delegates, meeting to discuss issues surrounding sports events such as sustainability and technology, include: Igor Stolyarov, Vice President of Marketing, Commercial Operations and Communications for Sochi 2014; or Charmaine Crooks, five-time Olympian and member of the VANOC 2010 Olympic Games Board of Directors.

As the inaugural Youth Olympic Games came to its successful conclusion yesterday, the Munich 2018 Bid Committee made a powerful statement of intent, with Chair Katarina Witt emphasising the importance of bringing the values of Olympism to the youth of Bavaria, Germany and the entire world should Munich be chosen to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

Just like the Youth Olympic Games, Munich's bid for the 2018 Games goes far beyond sport. Although Germany has been traditionally regarded as a winter sport heartland, in 2018 it will have been 80 years since they hosted a Winter Games, meaning whole generations - over 80 million Germans - have never enjoyed them in their home country.

Munich 2018 today welcomed six new corporate ‘Friends of the Bid', adding to the growing level of support that the German business community is giving to Munich's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

The six new ‘Friends of the Bid' are: Arena One GmbH (LLC), Munich Marriott Hotel, medienfabrik Guetersloh GmbH (LLC), Otto Beisheim, Picture Management AG and Riebel Group. They will help promote the Munich 2018 brand and bid activities in their business environment, as part of the program that was set up by Munich 2018 earlier this year in a joint effort with the Chamber of Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria.

Munich 2018's commitment to a sustainable and environmentally friendly Games was highlighted today as bid national partner, BMW Group, added to the Bid Committee's Green Car Pool when it delivered a BMW ActiveHybrid X6 to the bid office.

The Bid Committee's first hybrid car joins the Efficient Dynamics fleet and MINI E electric cars in the Green Car Pool, demonstrating Munich's dedication to hosting environmentally friendly Games in 2018.

Munich - Germany's Federal Government demonstrated its total support for Munich 2018 when the bid was invited to play a key role in the Open Day at the Federal Ministry of the Interior over the weekend (21-22 August 2010) in Berlin.

As the Ministry opened its doors to the public, Munich 2018 presented its bid and enthralled thousands of sports fans by parading its successful and charismatic sports ambassadors. These ambassadors included: Anja Huber, Olympic bronze medallist in skeleton; Andrea Rothfuss, four-time Olympic medallist in alpine skiing; Kevin Kuske, five-time Olympic medallist in bobsleigh; Felix Loch, Olympic gold medallist in luge; and Magdalena Neuner, two-time Olympic gold medallist in biathlon.

Munich 2018's Olympic hosting credentials were strengthened by recent economic figures released by the German government, showing that Germany is experiencing 2.2% quarterly growth, in addition to an increase of 28.5% in exports and a 0.2% rise in employment since last year.

Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, Germany has emerged as one of the most financially stable and economically progressive nations, highlighting its capacity to prepare for, and host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. With Munich 2018 enjoying cross political party support, this economic growth will ensure critical economic stability and viability during the key preparation period should Munich be selected to host the 2018 Winter Games.

The German Handball Bundesliga (HBL) will launch its partnership with Munich 2018 next Tuesday, 24 August, to coincide with the start of their new season, when Munich's Olympic Hall will host the German Super Cup match between THW Kiel and HSV Hamburg.

The HBL is one of the world's strongest handball leagues with eight million handball fans in Germany, and the federation will show its support for Munich's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games through a variety of promotional and educational campaigns across Germany.

Munich - Global financial services provider, Allianz, was today unveiled as the latest partner to join the impressive group of multi-national businesses that support Munich's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

Munich - 30.000 fans filled Munich's Allianz Arena today for the season-opening friendly football match between FC Bayern Munich and a Winter-stars team staged to give public and financial support to Munich's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Munich - A pro-Olympic website has been launched by Munich Green Party members Sabine Krieger and Jutta Koller, demonstrating their support for the Munich 2018 bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

Munich 2018 today unveiled 26 new sports ambassadors who collectively have won 57 Olympic medals and 57 world championships, bringing the total number of ambassadors to 98 and greatly enhancing Munich's campaign to maximise domestic support.

CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Willy Bogner, and CEO of the Munich Olympic Park, Ralph Huber, announced their new partnership in a unique location yesterday: the sweeping translucent roof of Munich's iconic Olympic Stadium, towering high above the Bavarian capital.

The Olympic Park was officially named a National Supplier to Munich's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2018, and will perform an integral role in Munich's concept. Purpose built for the 1972 Olympic Games, the Olympic Park is an archetypal example of the sustainable legacy that lies at the very core of Munich's ambitious proposal. Nearly forty years after it was opened, it still hosts over 300 successful community sport and cultural events every year. The latest innovation is a guided tour of the Olympic Stadium's roof canopy that has already attracted thousands of tourists.

Munich 2018 will have yet another opportunity to illustrate its unparalleled capacity for staging a diverse range of elite sports events when IOC President Jacques Rogge opens the ISSF World Shooting Championships tomorrow.

The Championships, that will take place at Hochbrück until 10 August, are in the same venue that was used for the shooting competitions at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich - an outstanding example of sporting legacy left by the Olympic Movement. The competitions will bring together the ISSF's most talented marksmen and women from 103 different countries.

CEO of the Bid Committee, Willy Bogner, believes 'the World Championships are a great chance to highlight Munich's passion for all sports - both as organisers and as committed, well-informed fans, guaranteeing an unrivalled experience for all athletes

Munich - Munich's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games now has wings, thanks to their national sponsor Lufthansa's new A380 aircraft, which has been christened 'Munich' in a ceremony at the city's airport today.

The name is a gesture to mark the Bavarian capital's 850th birthday. To celebrate the occasion, 'Munich's' maiden voyage was a flight over the potential sports venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Munich Alps route crosses over the Ice Park at Olympiapark, the Snow Parks in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the sliding centre at Königssee.

Munich's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 has been significantly strengthened by the positive outcome of today's high-level meetings, with key stakeholders voting unanimously in favour of increasing the bid budget by 10%, to €33 million.

Following the fruitful discussions at this morning's Supervisory Board meeting and the stakeholder meeting this afternoon, spirits are high in the Munich 2018 camp, with the bid team confident it is on the right track for achieving success in the crucial Candidate City phase.

The ‘Fitness First Winterstars' will play German national champions FC Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena on 8 August to raise awareness of Munich's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Fitness First Winterstars' lineup features several Winter Olympic champions, as well as representatives from Fitness First. The team will be coached by Willy Bogner, CEO of Munich 2018's Bid Committee.

The Munich 2018 Bid Committee today paid tribute to Günter Behnisch, the visionary architect of Munich's Olympic Park who died on Monday at the age of 88. He leaves Munich one of its most evocative landmarks, and the Olympic Movement a real and tangible legacy. His Olympic Park is visited by 15,000 people each day, and continues to host over 300 community sports and cultural events every year, making it among the world's most extensively used former Olympic venues, even forty years after its inauguration. The breathtaking sweep of Behnisch's iconic acrylic glass roof crowns the Olympic Stadium and to this day remains an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

CEO of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee, Willy Bogner said,

‘I would like to express my sincere condolences to Mrs. Behnisch and the rest of Günter's family on behalf of the entire Bid Committee. The Munich Olympic Park has inspired generations of athletes and has enriched the sporting, social and cultural life of our city. We will do all we can to honour Günter Behnisch's memory and celebrate his life by bringing another Olympic Games here.'

Chair of the Munich 2018 Bid Committee Katarina Witt will travel to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to support Germany in tomorrow's FIFA World Cup third place playoff against Uruguay, before she has the honour of joining recently elected German Head of State Christian Wulff at Sunday's final.

Witt has been overwhelmed by the inimitable enthusiasm German sports fans have demonstrated in recent weeks and believes this reflects the good health of German sport as a whole. She praised the excellent performances of the national team, and the wonderfully passionate responses they have produced all over Germany. Witt claimed that the fact that up to 40 million people were watching the team's matches at any given time, be it in private, at big parties or at public viewing events proves the enormous dedication of German sports fans - the culture of joining together and sharing in the national side's success does not exist to the same extent anywhere else in the world.

The Munich 2018 Bid Committee has today announced its new Board of Directors with the enhanced team set to build on the IOC Working Group's positive report last month and launch Munich's international campaign as a Candidate City.

The Board is comprised of the Bid Committee's six departmental directors: Steffi Klein (Sports), Jochen Färber (Communications), Andreas Weinberger (Finance), Katrin Merkel (International Relations), Jürgen Bühl (Planning) and Stefan Bruckner (Marketing).