Seoul’s city government Tuesday released an estimate indicating that organizers would need USD $3.44 billion (3.9 trillion won) to host the 2032 Olympic Games in South Korea jointly with North Korea.
Yonhap reported that the calculation, commissioned by multiple private institutions, does not include North Korea’s share of the proposed joint bid or any venue or infrastructure construction that may be necessary. Upgrades to current venues and new transportation could push the price much higher.
PyeongChang hosted the Winter Games in South Korea in February for a cost of about USD $1.8 billion, but infrastructure costs rang in at over $10 billion.
Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to pursue the 2032 Olympics during a summit in September and the Korean national Olympic Committee has already submitted a letter of interest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The estimate includes costs for staging 33 events during the Games proposed for Seoul and Pyongyang, and the city government is scheduled to vote on the budget bill on Thursday.
Officials say they would hold the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in both capitals simultaneously using new technologies.
Further discussions on the proposed bid will be held among the Koreas and the IOC at the latter’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland in February.
The IOC has already sited the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the 2024 Games in Paris and the 2028 edition in Los Angeles. The 2032 bid will culminate with an election scheduled for 2025.
Other countries have also expressed early stage interest in hosting the 2032 Games.
Indonesian officials announced in September that they’ll begin to prepare Jakarta for a 2032 bid after staging a successful Asian Games this year.
Shanghai’s announced that the Chinese city could consider a 2032 bid while it sets a course to become a “globally famous” sport city.
Last month Bach said he had received firm interest from Brisbane in Australia as it develops a feasibility study.
Buenos Aires in Argentina is also considering mounting a Summer Olympic bid after successfully hosting the Youth Olympics this month. The same city is also studying a possible bid for a 2026 or 2030 Winter Olympics.
Other interest in bidding for the 2032 Games has come from India, Germany, Russia and Egypt.
