IOC issues report on 2018 Games bid cities

LONDON - Less than two months before the vote, all three cities vying for the 2018 Winter Olympics found reason for celebration Tuesday after the IOC issued a report evaluating their bid plans.

Pyeongchang, bidding for a third straight time, received a generally glowing assessment from the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission that bolsters the Korean city’s status as front-runner.

But the IOC also praised the bids from Munich and Annecy, France, and said “all three candidate cities could successfully host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, with each city offering its own distinct vision and concept.’’

The 119-page report, which does not rank the cities or make direct comparisons, offers no major revelations or game-changing criticism.

It confirms Pyeongchang’s strong position but also gives Munich and Annecy solid marks and hopes to believe the contest is a three-horse race until the end.

“Each city’s concept offers a viable option to the IOC though the very nature of each project presents different risks,’’ the report said.

All three cities issued statements expressing delight at the report, which was released a week before the candidates make formal presentations to IOC members in Lausanne, Switzerland. The full IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.

The presentations next week in Durban are considered more crucial than the evaluation report, a highly technical document that is unlikely to alter the voting.

The report was based on visits by the IOC panel to the three cities in February and March.

It analyzes 17 separate themes, including sports venues, financing, security, transportation, accommodation and environment.

Pyeongchang, bidding again after narrow defeats in the votes for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, has been considered the favorite from the start as it seeks to take the Winter Games to Korea for the first time.

“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 sport in Asia,’’ the IOC report said in perhaps the strongest endorsement of the three bids.

As expected, Pyeongchang came out far ahead in the IOC’s survey of public support for the bids. The report cited 92 percent backing in Pyeongchang, 87 percent in Gangwon and 87 percent across Korea. Munich had 60 percent support in the city, 53 percent in Bavaria and 56 percent nationally. Annecy had only 51 percent support in the town, with 63 percent in the Rhones-Alpes region and 62 percent nationally.

“We are confident that Pyeongchang would deliver an unforgettable Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that would have the power to inspire a new generation of winter sports athletes and provide a platform for winter sports to grow and thrive in new areas of the world,’’ bid leader Cho Yang-ho said in a statement.

The report praised Pyeongchang’s “very compact’’ venue plans and said all the land required for the games had been secured, offering “minimum risk’’ for the games.

The IOC said it had raised the issue of tensions between North and South Korea but was told by Pyeongchang officials that “the tensions have existed on the Korean peninsula for 60 years’’ and South Korea had hosted numerous international sports events, including the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 2002 World Cup with Japan.

The report said “there is no apparent opposition to the games’’ and the Korean government had assured the IOC that hosting the Olympics was a “national priority.’’

The only real negative comments related to “some logistical and operational challenges’’ with the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and concerns about the spectator numbers at some of the ski sites.

AP

한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]
IOC 후보지 실사보고서 … 평창 최고 점수
“모든 분야 만족”

평창유치위원장2018년 겨울올림픽 유치 후보 도시 강원도 평창이 국제올림픽위원회(IOC)로부터 가장 높은 점수를 받아 선두주자로 나섰다고 AP통신 등 외신이 10일(한국시간) 보도했다. IOC는 지난 2~3월 평가단이 프랑스 안시와 평창, 독일 뮌헨을 차례로 현지 실사한 보고서를 이날 홈페이지에 발표했다. 이 보고서에 따르면 평창은 콤팩트한 경기장 배치와 짧은 이동거리, 합리적인 가격의 숙박시설 등 모든 분야에서 만족스럽다는 평가를 받았다.

　평창은 평가 보고서에서 참가 선수의 80%가 10분 이내에 경기장에 도착할 수 있는 조밀한 시설 배치가 높은 점수를 받았다. 수송체계는 완벽하다는 평가를 받았고 정부의 강력한 지원 의지도 돋보인다는 설명이 곁들여졌다. 평창은 또 주민 지지도에서 가장 높은 점수를 받았다. 조양호 평창유치위원장은 “평창이 한국 최초로 겨울올림픽을 개최할 준비가 되었다는 점을 IOC 평가단이 보고서를 통해 인정해 기쁘게 생각한다”고 말했다.