PyeongChang`s third bid for Olympics

Following is the first in the two-part stories on PyeongChang`s third bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. - Ed.



By Oh Kyu-wook



When Gangwon Province governor Kim Jin-sun inaugurated a bidding committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics in September, he repeated the old phrase - "third time`s the charm."

PyeongChang, the popular winter sports resort located some 180km east of Seoul, lost in its previous bids for the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, and it is now embarking on its third attempt.

The deadline for applications from cities wishing to host the global event ended earlier this month.

Only two other cities - 1972 Summer Olympic host Munich, Germany and the French Alpine town Annecy - have applied for the Winter Games. It is the smallest number since 1981, when a trio of cities competed for the 1988 Games that eventually went to Calgary.

The fewer applicants could be a good sign for PyeongChang, but many say that the Gangwon region will need to work hard to make the dream come true.

With previous experiences, Kim, also a co-chairman of the Olympic bid committee, is confident that PyeongChang will prevail this time.

"Going through its two previous failures, PyeongChang has now been completely prepared to play host to the Olympics," Kim told reporters earlier.



Seven out of the 13 required sites are already completed while another six will follow if the city wins the bid. By hosting notable international events such as FIS World Cup, ISU Figure Skating Championships and IBU Biathlon World Championships, PyeongChang has proven its capabilities.

Most recently, in September, the city opened the FIS Ski-jumping competition at the newly built ski-jumping stadium. Two international standard-sized jump slopes and a top-notch stadium were completed at the end of June. The stadium will be used for the opening ceremony for 2018 Winter Olympics, if Korea is chosen as the host.

Upgrading transportation infrastructure is also underway. The second Yeongdong Expressway is under construction, once completed it will reduce the travel time between Seoul and PyeongChang by more than half an hour, also the double-track railroad linking Wonju and Gangneung is being built, according to the committee`s report.

The previous failures, however, taught PyeongChang an important lesson - never count your chickens before they hatch.

PyeongChang gained more votes than any other candidate cities in the first-round of voting to pick the 2010 Games, but lost to Vancouver by three in the second round. PyeongChang was beaten by Russia` Sochi by four votes in the second-round of voting for the 2014 Games.

It would be necessary to look closely at the case of the 2016 Summer Games. In October, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was selected by IOC members as the 2016 host after winning the final round against Madrid by 66 votes to 32. Despite backing from President Barack Obama, Chicago, which had been considered a front-runner, had a shock early exit.

Chicago`s failure showed it never connected with the IOC voters, said former IOC marketing director Michale Payne, in his recent article published in a SportsPro magazine.

Payne, who was a strategy adviser to Rio, underlined that lobbying IOC voters was the city`s key to success. He said, "An Olympic bid is increasingly a communications campaign and in the end people will vote for who they like best, who they believe in most."

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Currently, Lee Kun-hee, the former head of Samsung Group, is the only Korean IOC member who can vote, while Munich is backed by three German IOC members, and two French IOC members are supporting Anncey.

Yet Lee dropped his IOC membership following his conviction on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust last year. Earlier this month the PyeongChang Olympic bid committee petitioned the government, seeking Lee`s pardon.

"Lee has a high reputation at the IOC and strong relationship with other committee members," said Cho Yang-ho, co-chairman of the committee and also head of Hanjin Group, in a press conference on Nov. 19.

"In order for PyeongChang to succeed, all the people, including the president, should extend their support. In particular, we need as many as IOC members as they are officially authorized to meet other IOC voters."

PyeongChang hopes to see Lee`s reinstatement before February next year when a general meeting of IOC will take place in Vancouver.

In addition to persuading Olympic voters, Korea`s performance in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver will be also important, said Kim Man-ki, media-team director of PyeongChang Olympic bid committee.

"Russia`s position as the winter sport`s dominant power certainly helped Sochi win the majority votes last time," said Kim.

Korea is on the verge of becoming a major power in winter sports, showing good results in international competitions, notably finishing 7th in the medal count at the 2006 Turin Winter Games. However, all 17 gold medals that Korea gained in the Winter Games came from short-track speed skating.

But next year may be different. Korean figure skating queen Kim Yu-na is the front-runner in the gold race for the 2010 Olympics following her victories in the World Championships this year.

Kim Man-ki believes that finding more athletes like the figure skating champion would pave the way for PyeongChang. However, it would probably take time and a lot of effort, Kim said. He added that the government needs to make a long term-road map for enhancing winter sports infrastructure in human resources.

By hosting the 2018 Winter Games PyeongChang aims to be the hub of winter sports in Asia. Its efforts have already been continuing through the Dream Program that invites youths and future athletes from parts of the world where winter sports are not available. More than 500 participants from 36 countries have benefited from the program since 2004.

PyeonChang believes the Dream Program is in line with the IOC`s Olympics objective, which states, "Sports and the Games should be available to everyone in all countries." PyeongChang plans to continue and expand the program, according to the bid committee.

Two years ago, when PyeongChang lost out to Sochi for the 2014 Games, Kim Seung-hwan, 43, was crestfallen. He was the leader of DongSaMo, an online community of more than 100,000 members that formed in 2003 in support of the bid.

The DongSaMo is still active, now backing PyeongChang`s bid for the 2018 Olympic, but has lost much of its luster. So, Kim decided to do something special. Since 2008 he has been promoting PyeongChang`s Olympic bid by hiking up mountains across the region literally everyday. So far he has covered more than 1,100 kilometers, and wants to reach 2,018 kilometers before July 6, 2011, when the IOC decides the 2018 Olympic venue.

"We need to leave the past behind and going forward. The first thing to be done is to raise public awareness," Kim said.

"Hosting the Olympics will certainly enhance the brand value of Korea, and will also bring the greatest effect of regional development in history," the Olympic bid committee noted.

But it all depends on how PyeongChang spends the next year. "The preparation process is well underway but we need more concerted efforts from the Korean government, the KOC and all Korean people," said Kim Man-Ki.

The three cities bidding for the 2018 Winter Games will begin next week the first of many trips they will make over the next 19 months. PyeongChang, Munich and Annecy will attend an IOC information seminar scheduled for Dec. 2-5 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Then, they will take part in Olympic Games observer program on Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver. Before that PyeongChang needs to hand in a long listed questionnaire to IOC. After examining the submitted files IOC will shortlist the official candidate cities for the 2018 Games in June 2010, and the commissioners will visit the selected cities before the IOC members finally cast their vote in Durban, South Africa on July 6, 2011.

(kyuwook.oh@gmail.com)