Pyeongchang 2010’s executive president and Governor of Gangwon Province says he is confident about Pyeongchang’s bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Kim told The Korea Times that that the transportation network in Gangwon Province is the best among the three bid cities. He said all sports facilities and athletes’ villages are placed within 100 kilometres of each other along highways, making Pyeongchang the optimum place for the athletes. He added that every site is located within a one-hour range.
Kim also emphasized the strong support the South Korean government has given the bid with a guarantee of $3.2 billion which will be used to beef up infrastructure including railroads, highways and sporting facilities “to the level of a perfect condition”.
He said he hopes the 2010 Winter Olympics in Gangwon Province, the only Korean province divided by the demilitarized zone, can boost peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. “The tension on the peninsula will last until North and South are reunited. But major sports events in the past have contributed tremendously to reconciliation between the two Koreas”.
Kim said, “it is our goal to provide an impetus on the Olympic movement by using Pyeongchang as a unique platform to further increase the popularity of winter sports in Asia”.
And that “Pyeongchang has grown to become a major winter sports hub in Northeast Asia over Japanese destinations which are significantly more expensive, testifying to Korea’s emergence as a potential winter sports centre”.
Also, Pyeongchang’s bid has the support of the people. A survey showed that 86.4 per cent of all South Koreans want the Games. In Gangwon Province the figure was 96.5 per cent and in Pyeongchang it was 93.9 per cent.
Kim said that Pyeongchang should host the Games if the IOC follows its convention of rotating between Asia, Europe and the Americas when it decides on the host city. The last Winter Games were the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, and the 2006 Games will be held in Turin Italy.
He added that South Korea has never hosted the Winter Games, while Calgary Canada hosted the 1988 Games and Innsbruck Austria hosted them in l964 and l976.
According to Kim some cities and even officials from its rival cities have voiced concerns, intentionally or not, over Pyeongchang’s visibility and relatively small size compared to the major metropolitan areas of Vancouver and Salzburg. “However, allowing these physical aspects to overshadow the other striking philosophical and symbolic benefits of Pyeongchang as the host city would not be fair or in the spirit of the Olympic Games”.
To show their support for the bid, more than 70 local government officials will join Kim in the lighting of a D-100 electric board and LED promotional screen.
