It has been announced today that Pyeongchang in South Korea will be the city to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Koreans went into the vote the favourite to win, and beat both Munich and Annecy with an absolute majority in the first round.
This was the city’s third consecutive attempt, having lost out to Vancouver and Whistler in 2010 and to Sochi in Russia for 2014
Six new world class venues will be built for the Games and the event plans to be more compact and convenient than normal. The base will be within 30 minutes of the main accommodation site, and there will be only 10 minutes between venues.
In addition to the new venues, two Olympic Villages will be built and the total budget for the games sits at $7.8bn.
The choice of Pyeongchang represents a strong financial opportunity for the winter sports industry. There is a greater opportunity to create more winter sports enthusiasts in the growing Korea and Asian markets than in Europe where the market is fairly saturated.
We wish both Pyeongchang and Sochi all the best in their preparations for the games!
More information at the official bid site here
Posted by Marcus Blunt on Wednesday 06 Jul 2011