50 years - Review of a sensational anniversary

Exhibition "By Elevator into the Future"

As the first part of the three-part exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Games, the "Future Platform" opened its doors on the Olympic Tower. Under the motto "By Elevator into the Future," an exhibition on the future of live entertainment awaited visitors on the closed platform. In addition, VR glasses provided a spectacular view from the edge of the Olympic Tower into the park's past and, of course, into a possible future.

Fact: 450,000 Olympic Tower rides

Olympic Stadium 1972-2022" exhibition

A look back at sports and entertainment in the Olympic Stadium was offered by the second part of the anniversary exhibition. Divided into different thematic areas, 22 stelae present the most important milestones and stories from the beginnings to today - and with digital extension via QR codes on the stelae. Small tip: This exhibition will remain beyond the 50th anniversary year.

Fact: approx. 65,000 stadium visits

The Jubilee Pavilion completed the three-part exhibition and saw itself as the central focal point for the city's anniversary celebrations. As an evolutionary further development of the so-called "smallest buildings" of the 1972 Olympic Games, the pavilion surprised visitors from April to November with its unusual position in the middle of the Olympic lake. In the "Sport Hub 72", everything revolved around the history, present and future of sport in the Olympic Park. At interactive stations, visitors could get active themselves and leave personal experiences, ideas and impressions in the "Wish Memory".

Fact: 356,300 visitors, 609 entries in the Wish Memory

Tower lighting

The original plan was to illuminate the Olympic Tower all year round with discreet white lighting, and on special days of remembrance and commemoration in very special colors. But instead of white, blue and yellow were to be the colors of the daily illumination of Munich's highest structure since the start of the war in Ukraine. The illumination was interrupted for the first time on April 26 on the occasion of the anniversary of the awarding of the Summer Games to Munich in 1966 - the tower shone in the Munich city colors of yellow and black. Further illuminations took place on the occasion of the lighting of the Olympic Torch and the opening of the 1972 Olympic Games.

Fact: 8 different types of lighting

Events Olympic Tower

The Olympic Tower, with its radiant power, was given special significance in the 50th anniversary year: it was used as a unique event location for around 135 events. The program included a mixture of events organized by Olympiapark München GmbH and external partners. Among other things, the Olympic Park's new series of events "Münchner Weitblick" ("Munich Vision") took place here, as did press conferences, the presentation of the university award by the Department of Labor and Economics, and a photo exhibition by the Munich Adult Education Center. In addition, 63 yoga courses and 31 other workshops on various topics were held.

Fact: 135 events

Easter in XXL format, 17./18.04.2022

At Easter, more than 50,000 visitors found their way to the Olympic Park to celebrate Easter in XXL format on the occasion of the anniversary. On the program: the "Easter Festival", the "Football Day", the "Market Sunday", the Dachshund Day and many other offers. At the "Easter Festival", Munich families experienced a colorful program with fun hands-on games, exciting competitions and much more. At the 28th Merkur Cup, the largest E-youth tournament in the world, 24 U11 teams played in the Olympic Stadium. In keeping with the event, the Bavarian Football Association invited visitors to take part in many activities outside the stadium gates on "Football Day". At the "Market Sunday", people rummaged and haggled for all they were worth. And on Easter Monday, a very special program awaited around 300 dachshunds and their owners - in honor of the legendary Olympic mascot Waldi.

Fact: 50,000 visitors

Festival of Play, Sport and Art, 01.-09.07.

From July 1 to 9, 2022, the public space around the Olympic Lake was the setting for the cultural highlight of the anniversary year: The Festival of Play, Sport and Art, inspired by the 1972 Play Street and organized by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich, consisted of several program points as well as a course of 15 projects by national and international contemporary artists. The festival started with a big opening ceremony in the Olympic Hall. The spectators experienced an artistic program with music, dance, fashion and art, in accordance with the special nature of the Munich Games.

Fact: 15 art projects

Anniversary parade, 02.07.2022

At 10:30 a.m. the colorful parade started at the Kunstareal in the direction of Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz in the Olympic Park. To pick up on the cheerfulness of the 1972 Olympic Games and the diversity and togetherness of Munich's residents, cultural and sports clubs, music and dance groups, schoolchildren, carnival societies, social institutions and dachshunds paraded through Munich's city center to the Olympic Park in colorful costumes and with many funny ideas.

Fact: +100 participating groups

Olympic Day, 03.07.2022

Each year, Olympic Day marks and celebrates the founding day of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on June 23, 1894, and each year more than 170 countries from all five continents are involved. In 2022, Olympic Day was held to coincide with the anniversary year celebrations, on July 3 as part of the Munich Sports Games '22. The highlight was the Olympic Day Run, a running event in which about 500 children aged 6-11 participated.

Fact: 1.5 km running course

Inauguration Olympic Rings, 01.07.2022

The symbol of the Olympic Rings is one of the most famous in the world. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, they received their permanent place on the roof of the Small Olympic Hall. The monument was inaugurated by Anton Biebl, Head of Munich's Cultural Department, Miriam Welte, DOSB Vice President, Thomas Bach, IOC President, Marion Schöne, Managing Director of Olympiapark München GmbH, Hans-Joachim Borzym, silver medal winner rowing 1972 Munich and Verena Dietl, Sports Mayor of the City of Munich. With a view of the tent roof, the rings are now a spectacular and popular photo motif.

Eleven days of European Championships Munich 2022, that were great emotions, magical moments and overwhelming images. Here, eyes were made to shine and memories for life were created. From August 11 to 21, the European Championships Munich 2022 and the festival "The Roofs" combined top-class sport and culture as Munich had last experienced at the 1972 Olympic Games. "With the European Championships, a wonderful new chapter was written for the history book of the Olympic Park and the city of Munich. I am still deeply touched today by the euphoria that this event has sparked. Our vision has come true: We have inspired, set new standards and left a lasting legacy. We have succeeded in bringing the sport to the people. We can be proud of that," said Marion Schöne, Managing Director of Olympiapark München GmbH. 

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Fact: 1.47 million visitors:inside

The Midsummer Night's Dream exceeded all expectations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Park and thrilled around 34,000 visitors. The spectacular anniversary fireworks display under the motto "A Sign of Life" crowned the summer night of the year. Under a bright blue sky and a dreamlike backdrop, Silbermond, Culcha Candela and Paul Kowol sang their way into the hearts of the visitors. 2raumwohnung, Lizki and the HyTop DJs provided alternative sound at the Sommernachtstraum 2022. 

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Fact: 34.000 visitors

Player's Party, 22.10.2022

Already on the eve of the Legends match between FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich, the Players Party took place in the VIP area of the Olympic Stadium. An evening filled with delicacies, live music and entertainment and anecdotes got both clubs and about 20 private individuals, who did not want to miss the chance to get to know some of the players, in the right mood for the Legends Match.

Fact: 70 soccer legends

Legends game, 23.10.2022

This highlight could not be missing in the anniversary program of the Olympic Park: Under the motto "MÜNCHEN VEREINT", Olympiapark München GmbH, together with FC Bayern and TSV 1860, invited all soccer fans and Munich residents to the Legends Game at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, October 23. From 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., all visitors and their families could look forward to a varied hands-on program on the topic of soccer at Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz. Thanks to the active support of the clubs, service providers, sponsors and, of course, the 25,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, a check for 50,000 euros was presented to Kerstin Mena Palacio from the "Die Arche" children's foundation in Munich-Moosach.

Fact: 25,000 spectators in the stadium | 15,000 visitors on Hans-Jochen-Vogel-Platz | 50,000 euros donation

Waldi - the comeback for the 50th anniversary.

His successors were called Amik, Mischa and Eagle Sam, but Waldi was the first - the first official mascot of Olympic Summer Games in modern times. The colorful dachshund was designed by graphic artist Elena Winschermann, who was part of the office of Olympic designer Otl Aicher. To mark the 50th anniversary, Waldi was available in a limited, licensed edition in the souvenir store in the Olympic Tower from April 2022 and sold out in no time.

Fact: 1,300 Waldis sold

Full of dynamism, light and cheerful - the Olympic posters.

Cheerful they should look. Light. Light-hearted. The colors Otl Aicher and his team of designers created for the Munich Summer Games. Airy pastel tones as a contrast to the martial bombast design of 1936 in Berlin. In a factory building in Garching-Hochbrück, Aicher's team of graphic designers tinkered with the visual corporate identity of the 1972 Games, and it was precisely this look that the OC decided the sports poster series should be based on. Ten of the 21 motifs were offered in limited editions in the souvenir store in the Olympic Tower and in the Olympic Park Webshop. Small tip: There are still a few of the legendary posters available in the Olympic Park Webshop. Get your posters in the online store now!

Fact: 3,000 posters sold