Persistence pays as Pyeongchang is awarded 2018 Winter Olympics

Deutsche Welle, 6 July 2011 

This was Pyeongchang's third
consecutive bid

Pyeongchang has beaten bids from Munich and Annecy to be awarded hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Koreans had been favored to win the IOC vote after having lost bids for the 2010 and 2014 Games.

It was third time lucky for Pyeongchang on Wednesday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the South Korean city hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Pyeongchang bid won 63 of the 95 IOC votes in the first round, beating rival bids from the southern German city of Munich, which won 25 votes, and Annecy in eastern France, which won seven.

"This is one of the happiest days of our country, our people and millions of youth dreaming of winter sport," said Pyeongchang bid chief Cho Yang-ho after the announcement by IOC president Jacques Rogge in Durban, South Africa.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in Durban that Pyeongchang would make the world proud. "I guarantee you the full and unconditional support of the Korean government," he said.

Government priority

The IOC Bid Evaluation Commission noted the benefit of the Winter Games being held in Asia. "Overall, the commission believes the legacy from a 2018 Pyeongchang Games, building on existing legacies from previous Olympic Winter Games bids, would be significant to further develop winter sports in Asia," read the Pyeongchang bid appraisal.

Korean President Lee Myung-bak, center,
had pledged to deliver the Games

The South Koreans had argued they deserved the 2018 Games on the basis that Asia had only previously hosted two Winter Olympics - both in Japan in 1972 and 1998 - and that winning the Games had been a national priority of the Korean government for the last decade.

Pyeongchang had thrown its hat in for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics but lost out to Vancouver, Canada, and Sochi, Russia, respectively.

Munich disappointed

Ahead of the IOC vote, the South Koreans had firmed as favorites to be awarded the games ahead of nearest rival Munich, which pulled out all stops to win the Games, including recruiting German President Christian Wulff, figure skating legend Katarina Witt and football supremo Franz Beckenbauer for the campaign.

Wulff congratulated the Koreans and said Munich could be proud for showing itself to be a likeable, open and sports-mad city. "We always knew it would be very hard," he said after the vote. "I offer my thanks to all those who have worked on our bid with so much enthusiasm."

Witt, meanwhile, said with tears in her eyes the loss was a tough pill to swallow, especially considering the quality of Munich's final presentation on vote day.

Author: Darren Mara

Editor: Michael Lawton