PyeongChang looks forward to cooperating with fellow Asian Olympic hosts

By Yoo Jee-ho

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- Following Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics bid victory, PyeongChang, the South Korean host of the 2018 Winter Games, is already looking forward to cooperating with its neighbor, its top organizer said Saturday.

Cho Yang-ho, president of PyeongChang's organizing committee, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, on the sidelines of the ongoing International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session, that he has already met many people on Beijing's bid committee.

In an IOC election Friday, Beijing defeated Almaty, Kazakhstan, 44-40, to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Cho said Asia will enjoy an unprecedented boom in winter sports with back-to-back Winter Olympics in the coming years.

"Now that Beijing will also be there, our goal of expanding winter sports in Asia will continue through (2022)," he said. "Young people are excited about learning winter sports."

With Tokyo's 2020 Summer Games sandwiched between the two winter editions, Northeast Asia will hold three consecutive Olympics for the first time. Cho said the historic development proves "the IOC recognizes that the only place to expand the Olympic Movement is Asia."

The three hosts will also be working together to ensure successful Games, Cho added.

"We are already in talks with Japan for future cooperation," he said. "With Beijing, we've had some fundamental discussions. When they form the organizing committee, we will talk more seriously about how to cooperate."

Cho dismissed as premature the concern that Beijing, capital of the world's most populous nation, may steal PyeongChang's thunder and eat into some of the regional winter sports market.

"It's too early to say anything yet," Cho added. "They just won."

Cho reiterated many of the same points he'd made earlier Saturday during his presentation to the IOC members at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. He explained that venue construction projects remain on schedule, and that PyeongChang has also made headway in sponsorships.

"We're not perfect yet, but we will try very hard to deliver a perfect Winter Games in 2018," he said. "With two and a half years to go, if we have weaknesses, we'll have time to correct them."

Asked what kind of legacy PyeongChang will leave with the Olympics, Cho insisted it won't be just about re-using competition venues after the Games.

"We will have built new infrastructure for Gangwon Province," Cho said of the home province for PyeongChang and one of the least developed parts of the country. "Tourism hasn't developed in the province but with the high-speed rail (under construction for the Olympics), tourism will be booming. Also, the quality of services and accommodations will improve to world-class. The Olympics will put Gangwon Province on the tourist map."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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