MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Munich's bid to host the 2018 winter Olympics enjoys strong political support, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday at the end of its evaluation visit to the Bavarian city.
Munich is vying to become the first city to host winter and summer Games, after staging the 1972 Olympics. South Korea's Pyeongchang and France's Annecy are also in the running and have completed their evaluation visits.
The IOC will choose the winning bid at its session in Durban, South Africa, on July 6.
"It is a good team on the bid committee and Germany is a big winter sports country used to organizing competitions," she said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel flew to Munich on Thursday to host a dinner for the IOC saying the country was behind the bid.
"I think that we have a great chance to plan a winter fairy tale after the summer fairy tale, which was the football World Cup 2006," Merkel told the commission during the dinner.
"I believe that since Germany is such a fantastic host, the world can look forward to the Games here in 2018."
Munich and Pyeongchang, bidding for the third straight time, are seen as frontrunners in the race with Annecy, who had to revise their plans after a critical IOC report last year, seen as the outsiders.
However, the German bid has hit local snags in recent months with land owners refusing to give up their properties for Olympic use and environmental groups and the Green Party opposing the bid.
Locals in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, proposed site of the Alpine events, have started a petition to force a referendum on whether the Games should be held there.
Critics say the Games would put too much of an environmental and financial strain on the valley, about an hour south of Munich.
(Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Clare Fallon)
