|
||
|
Striving to eliminate every weakness in its quest to host the 2014 Olympic and Parlaympic Winter Games, Salzburg 2014 used the IOC 2010 Evaluation Commission Report as the blueprint for its new plan, which is embodied in the 80-page “Response to the IOC’s Questionnaire” unveiled today in a press conference in Salzburg. “It’s a tremendous benefit to be mounting our second consecutive winter bid,” said Salzburg Mayor Heinz Schaden as he introduced the process by which the Questionnaire was developed. “The starting point for our planning was very clear. The IOC provided us with more than a dozen recommendations for how to improve our plan and we acted on every one of them.” The result is a new vision for Celebrating the Magic of Winter Sport that fills the concise and detailed document, which was submitted to the IOC before the February 1 deadline. The Questionnaire, the first major milestone in the 2014 campaign, will form the basis of the IOC’s judgment on which of the seven Applicant Cities advance to the Candidate City phase of the race on June 22nd. “We’ve made a quantum leap in five major areas,” said Heinz Jungwirth, the Secretary General of the Austrian Olympic Committee, “government support, athlete experience, compactness and transport, use of existing venues and sports-driven bid leadership." “Our game plan is now 55 minutes end-to-end,” Jungwirth continued, “We believe it’s the most compact Winter Games plan presented to the IOC in the last three decades. We’re offering one Olympic Village for all athletes and one Medal Plaza, creating a sense of Olympic Family unity that’s sometimes missing in the Winter Games.” Gernot Leitner, Salzburg 2014 Director of Bid Planning, who led the press conference through the details of the Questionnaire, articulated a variety of changes that have raised the technical excellence of the game plan. He pointed out the number of venues has been reduced from 15 to 11, reducing operational and logistical loads, that 73% of the venues in the new plan currently exist and host major winter events, that 91% of the venues are accessible by Autobahn and / or rail and that capital costs for the plan are modest since Salzburg has realized major infrastructure projects based upon a master plan over the past ten years. Therefore only three new venues (two permanent, one temporary) have to be built by Salzburg—allowing more spending on athlete and Olympic Family experience. Also participating in the press conference were Salzburg Governor Gabi Burgstaller, and Salzburg 2014 CEO Toni Schutti. You can download the Response to the Questionnaire at the Publications in the News Section. A Fact Sheet outlining some of the key differences between 2010 and 2014 is attached. For further information please contact Salzburg Winterspiele 2014 GmbH Nicole Leithner Alpenstraße 48A 5020 SALZBURG AUSTRIA phone +43 662 42 2014 -24 fax +43 662 42 2014 -50 nicole.leithner@salzburg2014.com www.salzburg2014.com SALZBURG 2014 FACT SHEET DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 2014 & 2010 BIDS 100% Government Guarantees Already In Place Far More Compact Technical Plan Greatly Reduces Travel Times New Plan Delivers One Village, Two Cluster Concept with One Medals Plaza Major Infrastructure Improvements Enhance Plan and Fan Experience Veteran Sports Professionals Now Lead Bid Team Management |
