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International Campaign Underway for Salzburg 2014

Salzburg’s international campaign to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Austria in 2014 began on 1 October with a core focus on people. The bid team will make the case for Salzburg 2014 within the parameters laid down by the IOC, including at four official presentation sessions with IOC members between now and April.

Salzburg’s international campaign will be funded out of a total budget of 7.1 million euros and will include major advertising and PR agencies, advertising campaigns and purchasing TV spots. There will be films and presentations highlighting Salzburg’s strengths – from existing well-established sports facilities and the transport and tourism infrastructure already in place, to its experience in organizing major sporting events and the beauty of one of the most famous cities in the world.  Everything is set and ready to go.

The international team behind the “Salzburg 2014” bid

Salzburg’s team for presenting the bid internationally blends experience, enthusiasm, sport and professionalism. But there is one thing that all the team members have in common – a passion for the Games, and each has their own story.

Fedor H. Radmann, CEO of the Salzburg Bid Committee for the 2014 Winter Games, brings decades of experience in international sporting events to the bid. An expert in international sport, he has served in executive positions at Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championships, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships and at many other events. Together with Franz Beckenbauer he was successful in bringing the FIFA World Cup to Germany in 2006 and in staging the event. As he says, “It is a great pleasure for me to be leading the Salzburg 2014 bid against international competition. We are well positioned and have a first-class concept. Salzburg is ready for the Games.”

Franz Klammer is “Salzburg 2014 Ambassador”, Austrian skiing legend and former Olympic champion in the men’s downhill event. He is a board member of the Laureus Foundation and a United Nations goodwill ambassador and is also heavily involved in the Franz Klammer Foundation he set up to provide support for athletes in need. Klammer adds: “Austria is synonymous with winter sports, for both athletes and spectators. We live for winter sports and are proud to be able to present Salzburg’s fantastic bid to the world. I can assure you that the athletes will be our major focus”.

Rudolf Höller, Bid Operations Director, has held leading roles in the successful organization of numerous major winter events, most recently as Secretary General of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf in 2005. He is an official FIS expert and has proven his skills in the development, management and staging of events on several occasions in the international arena. “From an organizational perspective, I believe Salzburg has significant strengths. Our decades of experience in winter sports and the ideal infrastructure provided by our “Ice & Snow” twin-centre concept are major pre-requisites for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”

Gernot Leitner, Games Plan Director, spent 15 years as a professional volleyball player before becoming an architect specializing in sport venue design. After working as the director of the sports venue planning section of Salzburg’s 2010 bid, he has redesigned and improved the Games plan to meet the recommendations of the IOC’s Evaluation Commission. “We have tightened up the concept considerably for 2014, so that it will not take any athlete longer than 12 minutes on average to reach their venue. Our aim is to make all the participants as comfortable as possible, to create the perfect conditions for all the athletes, officials, media, sponsors and spectators.”

Walter Pfaller, leader of the sports department of the State of Salzburg, he has extensive experience in the Paralympic Games – both as a wheelchair athlete and an official. He participated in seven Paralympic Summer Games, winning medals five times as an athlete and taking the gold in the pentathlon in Seoul in 1988. On the Salzburg 2014 committee, he is the link to the State of Salzburg and is also a highly qualified expert on the Paralympics. “For the Paralympics it is important not only that we have excellent facilities, but also that our country embraces Paralympic sport. This is where Austria leads the way.”

Andreja Wieser, International Relations for Salzburg 2014, began her “Olympic career” as the International Relations Director for Klagenfurt’s bid for the 2006 Winter Olympics. She also served as the Programme Manager for “IOC Services & Protocol” on the organizing committee of the Summer Games in Athens in 2004. She then successfully led the “International Dignitary Programme” on the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006. “I have now served on the organizing committees of two Olympic Games and all I can say is that although it is a lot of hard work, it’s the best feeling in the world. Now I have the opportunity to help realize this dream in my own country. Austria’s vast experience in winter sports, our unique understanding of tourism and our existing infrastructure mean that we are well placed to stage a wonderful Games.”

Penny Baker-Fischer, an Australian and the Image and Identity Director for Salzburg 2014, has for the last three years lived 1100 metres up in the Salzburg mountains. Penny was an Account Director at the Walt Disney Company, and then in 1995 she became the General Manager for Marketing, Image and Licensing on the SOCOG organizing committee for the Sydney Games in 2000. From 1998 to 2002 she was also on the IOC Image Committee. “I fell in love with Austria years ago and that’s why I’m here now. There are so many reasons why I love it here – the amazing countryside, especially the mountains and lakes, the wonderful city of Salzburg, which to me is small yet cosmopolitan and its location at the very heart of Europe is a major plus”

The Austrian Olympic Committee’s International Team:

Leo Wallner has served as President of the Austrian Olympic Committee for over 15 years and has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the last eight years. He is taking a leading role in the Salzburg 2014 bid given his role as President of the National Olympic Committee. This is his, and Austria’s, fourth consecutive bid for the Winter Games.

Heinz Jungwirth, Secretary General of the Austrian Olympic Committee, has been involved in the Games for 25 years. He holds a key role in the planning and international relations of the bid, to ensure that the needs of the NOC and the athletes are effectively addressed.


Salzburg politicians:

Mayor Heinz Schaden is the Chairman of the Board of the Salzburg Bid Committee for the Winter Games in 2014 and this is his second consecutive Olympic bid. He was instrumental in concluding a Austria multi-party agreement to ensure maximum government support for the bid, both at national and regional level.
Gabi Burgstaller, the Governor of the State of Salzburg, is the main ambassador for the bid in the State.  She has played a key role in ensuring that all levels of government – national, state, city and local authorities – are united in supporting the Olympic bid.