An International Olympic Committee team began a four-day on-site inspection Wednesday of an eastern mountain ski resort in South Korea.
In a presentation session organized by the Pyeongchang Bid Committee, President Roh Moo-hyun sent a welcoming message saying that the Olympic Games will contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula. Roh also pledged his government's full support for Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.
"The hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the only remaining country divided by Cold War rivalries is expected to do more than elevate the ideals of the Olympic Games; it will make a substantive contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia," the president said in a message delivered to the 16-member IOC team.
"If given an opportunity, I assure you that Pyeongchang will host the best Olympic and Paralympic Winter games in history."
Han Seung-soo, chairman of the bid committee, welcomed the delegation in an opening speech, saying, "We strongly believe that Pyeongchang 2014 will promote reconciliation and peace in Korea.
It will leave an immense Olympic legacy to Gangwon Province, one of the least-developed regions in Korea."
"Korea also has a long tradition of successfully organizing international sports events such as the 1988 Olympiad and the 2002 World Cup. Pyeongchang is proud to succeed this tradition.
Pyeongchang would be able to offer to the world and to Olympic families one of the best-organized and most memorable Olympic and Paralympic Games in history."
Han also said, "In Beijing, the six-party talks succeeded in persuading North Korea to agree to nuclear disarmament. This historic agreement is also in line with the Olympic spirit that all of us try to uphold."
The bid committee gave presentations on 12 themes covering such topics as sport venues, Olympic villages, the environment, transportation, accommodations and media operations, all behind closed doors in a hotel's grand ballroom.
"We still vividly remember the successful and exciting Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, and the performance of your athletes at recent Winter Olympics has been outstanding, with 17 golds, eight silvers and six bronze medals since 1992," said Chiharu Igaya, head of the delegation, in an opening speech.
"Our role is to make a technical assessment of your bid, then produce a report which will be sent to all the IOC members on July 4. The report will help them better understand Pyeongchang," said Igaya.
After the delegation ended its first day inspection, Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-sun told reporters that the bid committee's first-day presentation was successful.
"Thanks to our previous experience, we had no trouble giving them the presentation," Kim said. "Most questions from the delegation centered on transportation, and they asked how we will manage it."
"In summary, the presentation was so successful that most of questions were answered during the presentation," Kim said. He quoted Igaya as saying. "The presentation was high quality."
"During the remaining three days, we will do our utmost," said Han Seung-soo, chairman of the bid committee. "Even after the inspection, we will work hard to create the perfect conditions (for the Olympics)."
Han, however, admitted that some questions were hard to answer instantaneously, and those answers will be submitted to the IOC later.
The evaluation team will continue its on-site inspection of ski, snow board and ski jump venues in Yongpyong Resort, Jeongseon and Bokwang Phoenix Park in the Pyeongchang region, on Thursday.
Although Pyeongchang failed in its attempt to host the 2010 Winter Olympiad, which was handed to Vancouver, Canada, in 2003, it defeated other South Korean cities in fierce competition to bid for the 2014 Games.
Pyeongchang is the first of three candidate cities to be examined by the IOC. It was selected as a candidate city at an IOC executive board meeting last July.
The IOC delegation is scheduled to hold a news conference in a Seoul hotel on Saturday evening to wrap up their evaluation.
Evaluation results will be submitted to IOC members as early as June 4 so that the host city can be determined by a secret vote in Guatemala in July.
Pyeongchang, South Korea, Feb. 14 (Yonhap News)
IOC begins on-site evaluation of Pyeongchang's bid for 2014 Winter Olympiad |
