OLYMPICS-PYEONGCHANG/IOC IOC says Pyeongchang making progress, work still to be done

Record ID: 332392

  • Title: OLYMPICS-PYEONGCHANG/IOC IOC says Pyeongchang making progress, work still to be done
  • Date: 19th March 2015
  • Summary: ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** MORE OF IOC AND POCOG MEMBERS SITTING ON STAGE SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL FLAG AND FLAGS OF OLYMPIC AND PYEONGCHANG OLYMPIC LINDBERG AND CHO SHAKING HANDS AND LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 3rd April 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3I8X62EBG3DDTA9AHKROU59NY
  • Story Text: Pyeongchang has "no time to lose" and still has a lot of work to do but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is satisfied that the venues for the 2018 Winter Games will be ready on time.
    Gunilla Lindberg, chair of the IOC's coordination committee for 2018, told reporters at a news conference in Gangneung on Thursday (March 19) that there had been "big progress" since January when the IOC last visited to gauge progress.
    The coastal city of Gangneung will be used for the figure skating, curling, ice hockey, speed and short-track skating events, while the alpine town of Pyeongchang will stage mountain events such as skiing, sliding and Nordic events.
    "The IOC approved the venue masterplan already in January and yesterday we had a venue tour and we saw all the constructions and the big progress that has been done. Of course there is no time to lose but we are convinced that all the venues will be ready for the test events and the Olympic Games," said Lindberg.
    Despite lodging a bid 13 years ago to host the Winter Games in 2010, Pyeongchang is now racing to be ready for the 2018 Olympics amid concerns about venue construction delays, financial difficulties and a lack of local sponsors.
    President Park Geun-hye met some of the country's business leaders in February to call on them to sponsor the Games, while Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo stepped in earlier this month to push for more cooperation and stakeholders to resolve their issues.
    Pyeongchang's difficulties, coupled with the IOC's desire to cut costs for hosts, had given rise to speculation they could opt to share events with different cities, though this notion has been shot down by Cho Yang-ho, head of the 2018 organizers.
    Lindberg said that given the sheer scale of hosting an Olympic Games, it was no surprise that Pyeongchang organizers (POCOG) had encountered problems.
    "To host the Olympic winter games is a mega-project, it is the biggest event in the world. And I don't remember we have any organising committee that hasn't had some difficulties," Lindberg said, adding however that organizers could not afford to lose focus.
    "The first test events are less than a year away from now, so the creation of PyeongChang Winter Series Foundation which we heard about yesterday is a step in the direction to deliver those very important events. However, POCOG and its partners will need to focus simultaneously on multiple objectives over the next year in order to deliver them successfully," Lindberg added.
    Lindberg also confirmed that despite Japanese company Toyota signing up as a top IOC sponsor this week, 2018 organizers would still be able to sign up an automaker as a local sponsor, which could open the door for Korean carmaker Hyundai.
    Sponsors have been slow to come forward for Asia's first Winter Olympics outside Japan, though national flag carrier Korean Air signed up this week.
    POCOG President Cho is also the chairman of the Hanjn Group, the South Korean conglomerate which has Korean Air under its umbrella.
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