One of the hottest issues being discussed at the 15th Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) general assembly in Seoul according to the Yonhap News Agency is the intensifying competition between the seven cities bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
On Tuesday, the last day of the assembly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will present a report of its evaluation of all applicants for the 2014 Games. The candidate cities include Almaty Kazakhstan, Borjomi Georgia, Jaca Spain, PyeongChang South Korea, Salzburg Austria, Sochi Russia and Sofia Bulgaria.
The ANOC general assembly is the largest international sports meeting before the IOC general assembly in Guatemala in July 2007 where the 2014 host city will be announced.
Kim Dug-lae, director of PyeongChang’s 2014 bid committee said, “this meeting is the last chance to advertise our ambition and strong points to host the Games. All of the representatives from the cities have been watching each other warily to see if they commit any irregularities here”.
Under IOC regulations delegates of Olympic bid cities are strictly banned from contacting IOC members to prevent any backdoor deals. If any violation is discovered, the city in question will be punished and potentially stripped of its hosting rights, reports Yonhap.
IOC members who will vote for the 2014 host city have been prohibited from traveling outside of Seoul l80 kilometres east to avoid any suspicion of a possible visit to PyeongChang.
Also at the meeting world sports leaders have agreed to recommend the IOC change the way a sport is included or taken off the list of Olympic events. IOC member John Dowling Coats said, “we agree to have a sport eliminated or added by a vote of 50 per cent”. Under the current IOC charter, to eliminate a sport from the Olympic Program requires a majority of committee members to support the removal. And 75 per cent support is required to add a sport.
ANOC plans to deliver the agreement made by its members to the IOC Executive Board scheduled to open its three-day meeting Tuesday, said organizers.
