Munich: The Heartbeat of German Sports
As a city, Munich is outstanding in many areas. The state capital of Bavaria has a worldwide reputation as a major hub for everything from science to technology and from finance to business in general.
But there is one area in which it is truly outstanding - sport. Both as a venue for major sporting events as well as a meeting point for businesses involved in it, Munich can justifiably claim to be the country's capital in this respect.
As we shall see, it also has a rich sporting history, as well as being linked with less fondly remembered events such as the one had such tragic consequences for the 1958 Manchester United squad and which the club honours and remembers to this day.
A world-class venue for sports
The eyes of the world have been focussed on Munich as a major sporting venue for many decades and the one event that truly triggered this was the 1972 Olympics.
Conscious that this was to be the first Olympic games to take place in the country in the post Second World War years, a huge investment was made in creating what was titled "Die Heiteren Spiele". The famous architect Günther Behnisch was commissioned to design the competition sites following the masterplan that had been laid out by Frei Otto creating an Olympic park that aimed to resemble the Alps with its undulating peaks. It remains a major tourist attraction to this day.
Other major international sporting events that have brought Munich to the world's attention have been the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro Championships on three occasions - in 1988, 2020 and, most recently, in 2024. The 2020 Euros particularly stand out as they were played across Europe as a celebration of the 60th anniversary of European championships. Munich was the sole German location chosen to host matches.
As befits such an important role, the city has a venue to match in the form of the Allianz Arena which saw its first match played there in 2005 and is now home to Bayern Munich.
Football phenomenon
When it comes to football, it's undoubtedly Bayern that not only gets all of the headlines but probably also attracts the majority of fussball wetten from devoted fans betting on their predicted success.
It's true that they have dominated the Bundesliga over recent years, only failing to win it last season and coming third behind Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart. The arrival of the English player, and national captain, Harry Kane has also helped to focus even more attention on the team who will be hoping to restore their dominance of the league in the 2024-25 season.
But Bayern are by no means the only professional team in the city, or even the oldest. That honour falls to TSV 1860 Munich with the third in the list of Munich clubs being SpV Unterhaching. Both teams play in the 3. Liga. The former even used to play in the Allianz Stadium. However, in 2006, facing bankruptcy, they decided to sell their stake in the venue to Bayern for EUR11 million and have played at their original ground, the 15,000 capacity Grünwalder Stadionever since.
Where the world meets to discuss sport
Away from the action itself, Munich is a major meeting place for the business of sport. The biggest convention of its kind, called ISPO, has been held in Munich every year since 1970.
It brings together everyone from sports equipment manufacturers to sports organisations and includes discussions and debates about the major issues facing the sporting world.
Also included is an awards ceremony in which new and innovative businesses receive the ISPO BrandNew accolade while longer, more established ones vie to win the ISPO Award that is given for innovation, high performance and ecologically sound practices.
This year's event, to be held between December 3rd and 5th has the title Love Every Contact underlining what an important occasion it is for networking for mutual benefit in the ever-expanding world of sport.
The sporting city
It goes without saying that Munich as a city also encourages and enables participation in sporting activities too.
May to December sees the annual Fit in the Park event in which fitness classes are offered in the city's numerous open spaces.
There are also numerous open-air swimming pools with the 400 metre Maria Einsiedal natural pool being particularly popular.
In October the Munich Marathon attracts thousands of runners from the casual to the elite, keen to take on the 26-mile course that starts and ends at the Olympic complex. For fans of bouldering there's also theBoulderwelt München West, 2,500 square metres of climbing fun.
So, whether you like to participate, watch or rely on sport for your livelihood, there's no doubt that Munich is the place to be.
