July 20, 2008 – With 22 days until the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games on August8 and 576 days until the 2010 Games in Vancouver, the race for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games is also starting to take form.

The first city to make its candidacy for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games official, Munich, Germany is seeking to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games after hosting the Summer edition in 1972.

The application committee held its first official meeting on Tuesday, naming IOC Vice President Thomas Bach as its chair. Some of the other cities that are expected to compete with Munich for the 2018 Games include PyeongChang (KOR); a French candidate with Grenoble, Annecy and Gap in the running; Tromso (NOR) and several others sites who have expressed interest.

The application process for 2018 will officially begin next year, in the autumn of 2009, after the campaign for the 2016 Summer Olympics comes to an end.