OLYMPICS-SOUTH KOREA/IOC IOC members visit venues for 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea

Record ID: 332374

  • Title: OLYMPICS-SOUTH KOREA/IOC IOC members visit venues for 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea
  • Date: 17th March 2015
  • Summary: GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA (MARCH 17, 2015) (REUTERS) BUS CARRYING INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) MEMBERS ARRIVING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE OF ICE ARENA IOC COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIR GUNILLA LINDBERG GETTING OFF BUS LINDBERG WALKING WITH IOC MEMBERS LINDBERG AND IOC MEMBERS STANDING IN FRONT OF BUS LINDBERG AND IOC MEMBERS LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE ICE ARENA CONSTRUCTION SITE ICE ARENA CONSTRUCTION SITE / BANNER READING (Korean): "CONSTRUCTION SITE OF ICE ARENA FOR FIGURE SKATING AND SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING" LINDBERG (LEFT), CHO YANG-HO (CENTRE), PRESIDENT OF PYEONGCHANG ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR THE 2018 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES (POCOG), AND IOC MEMBERS LISTENING TO BRIEFING (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIR GUNILLA LINDBERG SAYING: "We can see they're following the time schedule that we will be ready for the test events. It's the whole concept of the games. It's happening a lot of things now." LINDBERG LOOKING AT BOARD BOARD SHOWING IMAGE AND MAP OF ICE ARENA LINDBERG LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIR GUNILLA LINDBERG SAYING: "And we will have presentations on the different parts like the finance, legacy and budget and marketing all these points. And then at the end of those three days I think we will have a lot of information." LINDBERG, CHO AND IOC MEMBERS LISTENING VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE LINDBERG WALKING TOWARD BUS
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADGU4OBVT25IDUF9C1D66S9F27
  • Story Text: International Olympic Committee (IOC) members on Tuesday (March 17) toured venues for the Pyeongchang 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea, ahead of the fourth meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission.
    The IOC members, led by coordination commission chair Gunilla Lindberg, checked the Ice Arena for figure skating and short track speed skating, which is located in Gangneung, about 420km (150 miles) east of Seoul.
    "We can see they're following the time schedule that we will be ready for the test events. It's the whole concept of the games. It's happening a lot of things now," said Lindberg during the tour.
    "And we will have presentations on the different parts like the finance, legacy and budget and marketing all these points. And then at the end of those three days I think we will have a lot of information," she added.
    On Wednesday (March 18), the IOC members will hold the fourth meeting of its coordination commission for the next winter Olympics, which is expected to be an opportunity for the full commission to discuss progress with the Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG), the IOC said.
    During the visit, the Commission members will look at a number of different areas including the mountain cluster and the coastal cluster to check preparation, according to the IOC.
    The IOC has voted to allow host cities to move events to other towns, or countries, breaking with the tradition of keeping the Games in one location and fuelling speculation Pyeongchang could take advantage of the change.
    However, earlier this month, a president of POCOG Cho Yang-ho said only a natural disaster could force South Korea's Pyeongchang to consider sharing Winter Olympics events, moving to quell ongoing speculation some sports could be switched to other cities.
    Pyeongchang's preparations for Asia's first Winter Games outside Japan have been beset by budget issues, with Gangwon Province, where the town is located, at odds with the government over how much of the cost it should bear.
    The total cost of the Games is estimated at more than 11 trillion won ($9.75 billion), with the Alpensia Sliding Centre costing more than 120 billion won.
    The Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games will be held from February 5 to 25, 2018.
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