Summit County Citizens Voice

Munich, Germany & Annecy, France were the other finalists in the July 6 vote

The Alpensia winter sports complex near PyeongChang will host the bulk of the 2018 Winter Olympic events. PHOTO COURTESY PYEONGCHANG 2018.

2018 Winter Games go to PyeongChang, South Korea.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The International Olympic Committee quickly picked PyeongChang, South Korea as the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics, reaching a decision on the first ballot at about 8:20 a.m. Mountain Time.

Visit the new host city’s official Olympic website: http://www.pyeongchang2018.org.

The quick vote was no unexpected, with PyeongChang a heavy favorite after bidding for the games twice before.

The Asian winter sports capital promises to host a compact games that could help spark more participation in winter sports throughout the region.

Other candidates were Munich, Germany, which would have become the first city to ever host both the summer and winter games.

Also in the running was Annecy, France, where some events would be held in the shadow of Mont Blanc, near Chamonix, which hosted the first-ever Winter Olympics in 1924.

Choosing PyeongChang, South Korea as the host city brings the games back to Asia for the first time since the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan.

More information on the voting is online at the  IOC website.

With the last two Winter Olympics having been in North America (2010, Vancouver) and Europe (2006, Turin), and the 2014 games set for Sochi, in Russia, PyeongChang had an edge in the contest. As well, public support for the games was only lukewarm in Germany, and Annecy would have required extensive new development. South Korea’s population is wholeheartedly behind the games, according to published results from polling.

Background on candidates:

Munich has the best existing infrastructure, so hosting the games in the Bavarian capital city would not require extensive new development. Instead, organizers say they would refurbish the existing Olympic Village from the 1972 games.

Munich would serve as the center of the winter games, with the 1972 Olympic Park transformed into an ice park to host ice sports, with opening and closing ceremonies in the existing Olympic Stadium.

The skiing competitions would be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which hosted the 1936 winter games, and the nearby Schwaiganger Nordic Center.

Bobsled, skeleton and luge events would be held at an existing track in Königsee, about two hours from Munich.

According to an IOC summary of the bids, Munich games would be low-impact with a high degree of sustainability. Organizers of the bid say they could achieve carbon-neutral games.

Annecy’s vision for the games is as a catalyst for sustainable recreation and development in the surrounding mountain region, with plans focusing on an eco-resort as a core part of the games. Overall strategic planning for the Annecy bid has been integrated into local and regional planning processes to respond to citizens desires to secure the economic and environmental future for the region.

The Annecy area would include five competition venues, including snowboarding and freestyle, figure skating, as well as short-track speed skating and curling.

Nordic events would be at La Clusaz/Le Grand Bornand, while the Chamonix Valley would host the speed skiing and technical ski events, as well as ice hockey.

PyeongChang’s bid is based on the city’s quest to become a key Asian hub for winter sports and a catalyst for accelerated growth in winter sports participation in the region. The sliding and snow events would be held in Alpensia, a newly mountain resort constructed as part of the Korean city’s previous bids for the 2010 and 2014 games.

Read details on all the bids here …

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