PyeongChang, the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, said Friday it would continue preparations for holding all events there and two nearby towns as originally planned. Cho Yang-ho, president of the PyeongChang Winter Games organizing committee, said in a statement that it would be difficult to relocate some events to another country as recommended by the International Olympic Committee because all the venues are currently under construction.
His statement came after IOC members unanimously voted earlier last week to approve a reform package put forward by IOC President Thomas Bach. The recommendations in the Olympic Agenda 2020 allow for events to be held outside a host country in “exceptional cases, notably for reasons of sustainability.”
As part of the cost-cutting reforms, the IOC has requested PyeongChang to consider relocating the sliding events to another country. According to IOC officials, this move would save $120 million in construction costs and $3 million to $5 million in yearly maintenance costs.
While acknowledging the reform agenda offers “an effective and progressive opportunity for the future of the Olympic Movement,” Cho said the IOC’s proposed changes might not be applicable to PyeongChang. He said the organizing committee was developing solid plans for the long-term use of the venues as well as measures to control costs.
His remarks, however, appeared to fall short of dispersing concern over the heavy financial burden of hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The organizing committee and Gangwon Province, where PyeongChang is located, have been in discord with Korea’s central government over how to share the costs of building venues. The provincial government recently threatened to return the hosting rights to the IOC after central government officials refused to accept its request for more financial support.
This dispute seemed to have partly resulted in the IOC moving to relocate the bobsled, luge and skeleton events to another country. The IOC is scheduled to make an official offer to PyeongChang this week, suggesting the list of a dozen sliding venues that operate in Asia, Europe and North America.
A plausible option may be Nagano, Japan, which hosted the 1998 Winter Games. But it could be a difficult choice given the strained relations between the two countries. It would be ideal if Korea is allowed to host some events of the 2020 Summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo in return for relocating sliding competitions of the Winter Games. But Japan is unlikely to accept this compromise.
Opinion polls show that more than half of Koreans are opposed to relocating the sliding competitions to another country but nearly 60 percent agree to split events between PyeongChang and other domestic locations, including the Muju ski resort in North Jeolla Province.
Officials at the organizing committee and Gangwon provincial government need to actively consider sharing events with other places in the country and scaling down the existing plans for building venues. This proposal may be discussed with the IOC as a way to at least partly reflect its reform agenda.
