POSTED: May 18th 2011
NewsUpdate
Governor Choi hopes to show IOC the best of Korea
LAURA WALDEN in LAUSANNE / Sports Features Communications
LAUSANNE, May 18: Newly elected Governor Moon-Soon Choi is in the Olympic capital for the first time for the IOC briefings to show his support for the PyeongChang 2018 bid to bring the Olympics back to Asia for the first time in 20 years.
Speaking exclusively with SportsFeatures.com Governor Choi confirmed his support and passion for the local PyeongChang campaign and his excitement to welcome the world to the city.
Choi is keeping a low profile with the bid team and basically he is here in Lausanne to show his backing but is not playing a prominent role in the bid presentations. Choi was elected just recently in the April 27th elections and was not necessarily the favorite in his own election race, but managed to edge out competitor Ohm Ki-young to take control of the Gangwon Province.
He does not see PyeongChang as the favorite in this race and noted, “I was considered second in my campaign but I won and I want the same thing for PyeongChang. The city has lost twice before so I think we are the underdog, but this time I want them to come back and win.”
“We hope this will be the third time charm for PyeongChang."
Many see the South Korean bid as the front runner in this 2018 Olympics race as they are competing against Munich and Annecy to host the winter Games. Choi says that he feels now, given the past of the bid, that the “environment” is right and he hopes the IOC members will feel that way too.
Choi says, “I want the IOC and the members to know that under my leadership Gangwon is always 100% behind the bid and that I am very passionate about hosting the Olympics in our sports city PyeongChang. I hope that they will choose PyeongChang and will have a chance to experience our hospitality with the “Best of Korea” plan that will be part of our Games should we have the chance to host this prestigious event.”
“PyeongChang wants to put Korea’s best image forward,” he added.
“That is the only message that I want to get across to the IOC members.”
Choi will be attending the press conferences with the bid team and looks forward to learning about the IOC and meeting key people. Yesterday he visited the Olympic Museum to get some indepth knowledge on the spot about the history of the Olympic Movement.
PyeongChang is in the race with Munich and Annecy with the final vote taking place July 6th in Durban, South Africa at the IOC session.
Keywords · PyeongChang 2018 · Gangwon Province · Moon-soon Choi
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