A Bavarian ski resort’s slogan has been banned ahead of the upcoming skiing World Cup over fears it will offend British visitors.
The slogan used by the resort pays homage to Garmisch-Partenkirchen’s local mountain, Mount Wank.
Images of gondolas within the resort’s cable car station show bold text plastered to the sides that read ‘I love W*nk’.
The slogan was reportedly even set to be carved into the snow on the legendary Kandahar piste to be seen by cameras and drones during the upcoming Alpine Skiing World Cup races.
But the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has banned its use while the world is watching.
The skiing world cup, which begins on Saturday, is taking over the Upper Bavarian resort slopes and will broadcast on TV.
Organisers have praised the local slogan – but said it was inappropriate for an international event.
‘I love this mountain and this saying,’ Martina Betz, head of the Organising Committee, told German regional newspaper Merkur, but she agreed with the FIS that it may be too vulgar for the world cup.
A gondola of the W*nkbahn with the controversial logo
View from the mountain. The German name, which when pronounced sounds like it begins with an English ‘V’, is said to come from an old German word for ‘slope’ or ‘bend’
According to Betz, around eight million viewers worldwide tune into the races – including many English-speakers.
‘We want to convey a positive image and the togetherness of us as partners to the outside world – not sexual slang,’ said Betz.
But there are many Bavarian nationals who are not happy with the decision to ban the slogan, including Klaus Schanda, Sales and Marketing Manager at the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn – one of four rack railways still working in Germany.
‘I would like to advertise what we as a company consider to be useful,’ he told The Local, adding that the mountain, which isn’t as well known as other peaks, would be in the spotlight.
Schanda said the advertising campaign has previously been successful.
During the 2024 Euro football championships hosted by Germany last year, fans of Scotland’s national team, who were staying in the area, bought W*nk merchandise because they found it amusing.
Former World Cup Alpine ski racer Christian Neureuther also told Hessischer Rundfunk radio that the location was a ‘mountain of the heart’ which is why he has never had an issue with the regional slogan.
The German name, which when pronounced sounds like an English ‘V’, is said to come from an old German word for ‘slope’ or ‘bend’.
Since 1928, the mountain has been accessible from Garmisch-Partenkirchen by cable car, known as the W*nkbahn.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
