Pyeongchang’s Olympic Fate to Be Determined in 2 Days

Only two days remain before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) picks the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics at 8:00 a.m. on July 5.

The South Korean city of Pyeongchang is locked in a neck-and-neck race with two other bidding cities, Salzburg of Austria and Sochi of Russia.

President Roh Moo-hyun arrived in Guatemala, the venue of this year`s general conference of the IOC, to drum up support for Pyeongchang’s bid. On his way to Guatemala, he dropped by Seattle to meet with Korean residents and said, “I believe the results will be positive as our whole nation has made every effort to be the host.” Prime Minister of Austria Alfred Gusenbauer arrived in the city yesterday and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is expected to join the Russian bid team tomorrow. Russia is taking an aggressive lobbying stance, sending a delegation of over 1.000 people for ice shows aboard nine charter flights.

Although Pyeongchang lost the 2003 race to Canada`s Vancouver by three votes, it has never given up hope. The whole province of Gangwon-do came together to host the Winter Olympic Games.

During a presentation session in April highlighting Pyeongchang’s unique merits and vision, Pyongchang received the highest scores and applause from the IOC members.

All the winter Olympic Games so far have been held in advanced countries, excluding the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984. For this reason, the symbolic meaning of hosting the games is especially special for us who are at the threshold of joining the ranks of the developed nations in the 21th Century. Samsung chairman Lee Geun-hee said on his way to Latin America to win support for the bid, “If we succeed in winning the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, it will give us a good opportunity to overcome the deadlock of our economy in the region and to join the ranks of the world’s advanced countries.”

This year, Korea successfully won the right to host the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Daegu and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. These feats were meaningful in that this year marks the tenth anniversary since we experienced the Asian financial crisis. Now we are facing another good chance to make a leap forward provided we win the right to host the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the right to host the 2012 World Expo. Good luck, Pyeongchang!