The culture department had received a budget of 2.9 million euros from the city for the design of the 50th anniversary year of the Olympic Games in 1972 – with this, culture consultant Anton Biebl and project manager Elisabeth Hartung started a lot, as can be seen from the final report, the Biebl submitted to the City Council’s Culture Committee on Thursday. The program overview alone comprises 221 pages: the leading cultural department organized more than 250 exhibitions and events with other municipal institutions over the course of 2022. The sporting highlight was the European Championships in August, organized by Olympiapark GmbH and centered on the Olympiapark.
As Biebl explained, with all these activities the ’72 Olympics were “brought to the attention of the younger generation” – for the older generation the Summer Games are a formative event in Munich’s post-war history anyway. And unlike in previous commemorative years, the assassination attempt by Palestinian terrorists on the Israeli Olympic team was also dealt with, which Green City Councilor David Suss praised. CSU city councilor Ulrike Grimm spoke of a “great and varied program”.
True to the overarching motto of the anniversary year “On the way to the future 1972-2022-2072”, the final report is not just about reminiscing about the happy and sad games of 1972, but also about giving impetus for the future. On a large scale, this is, for example, the appointment of a commission of historians promised to the families of the victims, which is to investigate the attack of September 5, 1972. At the end of April, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced the eight members of the expert group, including two scientists from the Ludwig Maximilian University: Michael Brenner, professor of Jewish history and culture (and also director of the “Center for Israel Studies” at the American University in Washington), and Margit Szöllösi-Janze, Chair of Modern and Contemporary History.
On a small scale, Biebl and his team are trying to give concrete advice for the future. In the 100-page study “Olympic Art 1972” they listed all the works of art and installations that were created during the games. The documentation should also serve as a basis and template for possible renovations. Specifically, Biebl suggested two projects for which he intends to submit a concept to the city council by autumn: the “Öki-Station” and the “Medialinien”.
These are two pioneering installations in the Olympic Village. The media lines, designed by the Austrian architect Hans Hollein, are a colored tube system with a total length of 1.6 kilometers, which runs through the pedestrian level at a height of around 3.5 meters and is primarily used for orientation. Its structure is still intact, but it has been deprived of many functions, such as lighting and loudspeaker systems.
It is similar with the Öki-Station by the Swiss designer Franco Clivio in front of the church center. The steles with universally understandable information about the date, time (local and global), weather and wind conditions as well as geographical information have been replaced by showcases, but their original function should be restored.