Lord Mayor Christian Ude: World Cup exceeds expectations

At the press conference held in Munich's city hall at Juli, 7th to review the World Cup, Lord Mayor Christian Ude issued an unequivocal statement:

The 2006 World Cup has exceeded all expectations.

Lord Mayor Ude stressed that the City of Munich had aligned its planning for the sideline program to the World Cup closely with the needs of soccer fans and football tourists. Munich, he said, had seized the opportunities afforded by modern city marketing strategies to position itself as a sporting and cultural metropolis whose heart is wide open to the world.

9 Million tourists in Munich

The message that "Munich loves you" had been carried to the four corners of the Earth. Ude is convinced that the 2006 World Cup has given a lasting boost to the image of the Bavarian capital. The figures speak for themselves: Nine million tourists visited Munich during the four weeks of the World Cup. Many of them did not have tickets to the stadium but simply wanted to soak up the exciting World Cup atmosphere.

The Lord Mayor was also deeply impressed by the calm, relaxed attitude of fans that has been palpable throughout the city for the past month. This feeling will leave a lasting, positive impression of the World Cup in Germany, he believes.

Fan Festival in Olympiapark with more than 800.000 visitors

The Fan Festival in the Olympic Park welcomed 860 000 visitors and evidently gave fans exactly what they wanted. Music and catering facilities added to the festival atmosphere and made the entire project an overwhelming success. Ude pointed out that local residents too will derive lasting benefits from the World Cup – thanks, in particular, to the expansion of the Marienplatz subway station, the new Fröttmaning subway station, and improvements to the A9 freeway.

Friends around the world for Munich

The Lord Mayor expressed his sincere gratitude to everyone who had contributed to the success of the World Cup in Munich – to everyone who had breathed life into the World Cup motto, "A time to make friends". "The people of Munich have been wonderful hosts to soccer fans from all over the world," Ude said.

Dr. Reinhard Wieczorek, head of the Department of Labor and the Economy and the man who had spearheaded Munich's entire World Cup effort, went on to provide a detailed report on Munich's outstanding successes in the areas of tourism, hospitality and media support, and in the context of city marketing and communication. "The program of events laid on at the Fan Festival proved in no uncertain terms that quality is more important 3 than quantity," Wieczorek asserted. "For Munich, the World Cup is a success story whose positive impact will be felt for a long time to come."

source: Touristboard of Munich