KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA The true appellation of Apu.

Hello, PyeongChang!

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24/02/2014

On 6 July 2011 in Durban, South Africa, during the 123rd Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the city of PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea was chosen as Host City of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, ahead of bids from Munich (GER) and Annecy (FRA).

The PyeongChang 2018 Games, which will take place from 9-25 February 2018, will be the third to be staged in Asia, and the first ever in the Republic of Korea, following Nagano (JPN) in 1998 and Sapporo(JPN) in 1972.

The vision presented for PyeongChang 2018 focused on opening new horizons for the Olympic Movement and the world of winter sports, in order to engage previously untapped audiences in Asia.

From a logistical point of view, the concept for the 2018 Winter Games is one of the most compact ever seen.

Not unlike the schema for Sochi 2014, the vision for PyeongChang is based on a compact geographical area, split between a coastal and a mountain cluster. The coastal cluster, centred around the town of Gangneung on the Republic of Korea’s eastern seaboard, will provide the setting for the events on ice (speed skating, figure skating, short track, ice hockey and curling), with the main Olympic Village complex and mountain cluster (comprising the skiing and snowboarding courses and the bobsleigh,luge and skeleton track) located only a 30 minute car journey away.

The mountain cluster will comprise eight facilities – six of which are already established - including the ski resort of Yongpyong. Nearby, the Bokwang Phoenix Park, already a favourite location for Korean freestyle aficionados, will provide the ideal stage for the snowboard and ski freestyle events.

State-of-the-art facilities designed especially for the 2018 Winter Games will further enhance existing infrastructure, to ensure that the world’s best winter athletes are provided with every possible opportunity to deliver their optimum performances.
Blessed with a prime geographical position within Asia, and benefitting from a youthful population and a vibrant and rapidly growing economy, PyeongChang looks set to bring the Winter Games to a whole new audience and a whole new generation of aspiring Winter athletes in 2018.