`Winning over IOC spouses key to Olympic hosting bid`

“We have a secret weapon that can win the hearts of spouses,” said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choung Byoung-gug at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland Wednesday.

“One of the important factors that can influence the 103 International Olympic Committee members eligible to vote is their spouses.”

While Pyeongchang has outstanding transportation and enthusiastic residents compared to those of Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France, the two other cities vying to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, it lacks a major leisure space. The spouses of IOC members, however, want a place where they can be luxuriously wined and dined for a month during the Olympics.

In response, the Korean parliamentary committee for culture, sports and tourism and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee came up with the program “One Stop, Best of Korea.” They intend to create an environment where visitors can eat and enjoy the best of Korea in Pyeongchang.

“The Olympic bid committee has signed (memorandums of understanding) with as many as 50 of Korea’s leading hotels and restaurants,” Choung said. “This will help win the minds of the spouses of IOC members who think that they might be bored in Pyeongchang.”

Pyeongchang committee spokeswoman Theresa Rah, who gave a technical presentation, said, “We will make a great Olympics where you can enjoy the lifestyle, dining, shopping and entertainment of the world’s top-class cities through ‘Best of World, Best of Korea’ during the Olympics.”

A committee source added, “We are preparing other ideas targeted at the spouses.”

Given that Pyeongchang is close to the Seoul metropolitan area, the committee plans to help IOC members and their spouses visit tourist sites and departments in Seoul and its vicinity with ease.

taylor55@donga.com