POSTED: Monday February 14th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PyeongChang welcomes the International Olympic Committee

The IOC Evaluation Commission arrived in South Korea today

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA, 14 February 2011: PyeongChang today welcomed the Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission as they arrived to inspect the city's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018.

The IOC Evaluation Commission landed at Korea's Incheon International airport and was greeted by senior members of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee, including Chairman and CEO Yang Ho Cho. Upon their arrival in downtown PyeongChang, hundreds of PyeongChang 2018 supporters gathered to welcome the IOC Evaluation Commission and show their desire to host the Winter Games in 2018.

The IOC Evaluation Commission will conduct a four day tour of PyeongChang, inspecting the existing winter sports infrastructure tailor made for a Winter Games.  The site tour includes a visit to the newly completed USD 1.4 billion Alpensia Resort - a state-of-the-art year-round sports resort that is the centre piece of PyeongChang 2018's Winter Games Plan, and the focus of PyeongChang's vision to be the winter sports hub in Asia.

In addition to the Alpensia Resort (the mountain venue cluster designed to host skiing and sliding events), the IOC Evaluation Commission will also visit Gangneung, the second venue cluster that will host the ice events should PyeongChang have the honour of hosting the Winter Games. PyeongChang 2018's highly compact Games Plan means that the two venue clusters are only 31 km apart and a short 30 minute trip via PyeongChang's outstanding transport network of expressways, national highways, and high-speed rail.

The IOC Evaluation Commission's arrival in PyeongChang was greeted with widespread public support in the mountain city as many local residents showed their enthusiasm for the city's bid by decorating their streets and waving flags. This show of support follows a poll conducted in December 2010 by a Gangwon Province newspaper, the Gangwon Ilbo, highlighting that 95.2% of local people have pledged their support to the bid.

The PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee also provided the IOC Evaluation Commission with a special mobile telephone application that they could use whilst touring PyeongChang. The new interactive 'PyeongChang 2018' smart phone application offers the Evaluation Commission Members information about the bid's themes that were presented in the Candidate File such as venues, environment and accommodation. The Members will therefore be able to easily access and download useful content about PyeongChang's Candidate File remotely as they travel around PyeongChang. 

Yang Ho Cho, PyeongChang 2018 Chairman and CEO, said: "It would be a privilege for us to host the Winter Games in 2018, and we look forward to sharing our vision with the IOC Evaluation Commission this week.

"We believe a Winter Games in PyeongChang can offer the Olympic Movement something unique and special - a new market for winter sports in Asia, home to 60% of the world's population.

"We are delighted to show the IOC this week that we have kept our promises and we are delivering on our commitments to create Asia's first long-term and sustainable winter sports legacy, providing the Olympic Movement and winter sports new growth and new potential, a world of 'New Horizons'."

-ENDS-

NOTE TO EDITORS

Please find attached images of PyeongChang 2018 Chairman and CEO Yang Ho Cho greeting the IOC Evaluation Commission, and members of the public celebrating the arrival of the IOC in downtown PyeongChang. High resolution images are available upon request.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The city of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province, South Korea is bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. The city's bid is managed by the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee, a non-profit organisation that was established on 14 September 2009. The Chairman and CEO of the Bid Committee is Yang Ho Cho, who is also Chairman of Korean Air. Additional members of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee include representatives from all levels of national and local government, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), the Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC), winter sports athletes and para-athletes, and private businesses. The election of the Host City of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games will take place during the 123rd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Durban, South Africa on 6 July 2011.

For further information about PyeongChang's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, please visit http://www.pyeongchang2018.org

For further information:

Sujit Jasani

VERO Communications

sjasani@verocom.co.uk

M: +44.794.037.5282

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Keywords · PyeongChang 2018 · Yang-ho Cho · IOC · Gunilla Lindberg · Gilbert Felli

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Name: Sujit Jasani
Organization: PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee
Email:
Phone: 447940375282
URL: http://www.pyeongchang2018.org

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