Countdown begins for 2018 Olympic bid
The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic bid committee held a special rally Tuesday, marking the one-year countdown to the day of the host city announcement, slated for July 11, 2011.
More than 250 government officials, lawmakers and athletes attended the event at the Grand Hilton Seoul, in Hongeun-dong.
“Now, time is crucial for us. We’ll have to make sure to be well prepared before the IOC commissioners’ evaluation visit,” said Cho Yang-ho, the chairman of the bid committee and also head of the Hanjin Group.
“We still have a long way to go before the IOC’s balloting next year. A lot of hard work will be required, but we’ll make sure this time to bring the Olympics to PyeongChang.”
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| Government officials and members of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic bid committee pose at a special rally at the Grand Hilton Seoul on Tuesday. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald |
PyeongChang is located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul and was selected last month as an official candidate city of the 2018 Games by International Olympic Committee.
The IOC also chose two other candidate cities -- Annecy of France and Munich of Germany -- and the battle to become the host of the quadrennial global event is well underway.
The Gangwon Province city twice lost in previous attempts for the 2010 and 2014 Games, and now hopes the third time is the charm.
Speaking at the event Culture Minister Yoo In-chon said, “I have a feeling that this will be the time we’ll bring the Olympics here.”
Yoo added that the Seoul government has set the 2018 Olympics as a national priority saying, “The government will give full support to PyeongChang.”
On Tuesday, the PyeongChang Olympic bid committee appointed seven new honorary ambassadors, including Vancouver gold medalists Mo Tae-bum, Lee Seung-hoon and Lee Sang-hwa, who will now work to boost the image of PyeongChang in and out of the country.
The bid committee also announced a new slogan “New Horizons,” which refers to PyeongChang’s determination to bring “New stage,” for “New generation” and “New possibilities.”
The campaign was also created in an effort to boost Asia’s competitiveness in winter sports, the bid committee said.
Four-time Olympic champion Chun Lee-kyung said hosting the Winter Games will be a great opportunity to boost the popularity of winter sports in Asia. The former IOC member said she believes PyeongChang has the capability to host the Games.
“What is important now is how to persuade the IOC members,” said Chun.
The three candidate cities will now have to submit their final bid proposals to the IOC by January 2011 and then prepare for the IOC evaluation commissioners’ visit in February.
The announcement of the host city for the 2018 Winter Games will be made at the IOC executive board meeting scheduled for July 6, 2011 in Durban.
All the IOC members will cast a secret ballot and the candidate city that garners the majority of the votes, will become the host of the 2018 Winter Games.
With its two previous attempts, PyeongChang is believed to be leading the race, having already built seven of the 13 required competition venues. The remaining six venues are already under construction.
The city has pledged to the IOC that it will create a transportation network connecting all the venues so they will have a maximum 30-minute driving distance from each other. An express railroad between Wonju and Gangneung via PyeongChang is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2017.
However, PyeongChang’s projects were dealt a blow as the newly elected Gangwon Province Governor Lee Kwang-jae was suspended from office over a conviction for taking illegal campaign funds. Under the current law, Lee, who is also appointed vice chairman of the bid committee, will not be able to sit on PyeongChang’s bid committee.
Lee attended the rally on Tuesday, but could not make an official speech at the venue due to the suspension. He, however, told The Korea Herald that he believes the Supreme Court would soon rule on his appeal. “It won’t be long,” said Lee.
He added that he expects ex-Governor Kim Jin-sun to help the bid committee again.
“I believe the government should give him another chance,” he added
