PyeongChang Olympics hope to promote Korea

As the world continues to watch South Korea prepare for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, organizers are hoping the global event will revitalize the economy and promote its advanced technology industry.

Korea will play host to the Olympic Games from Feb. 9 to 25, 2018 in Gangwon Province, nearly three decades since the country last held the worldwide event at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.

However despite being more than a year away, the event is already receiving attention, especially for the addition of new competitions.

The International Olympic Committee has announced it will be adding four new events to the winter program: big air in both snowboarding and freestyle skiing, mass start in speed skating and mixed doubles in curling.

The committee said is decision to introduce these events was because they believed it would add value and further appeal to the younger generation of viewers. 

Making its Olympics debut in Korea, the thrilling big air events will allow the competing skiing and snowboarding athletes to soar sky-high while trying to complete as many intricate flips and spins as possible. A newly built venue in PyeongChang has the world’s largest big air ramp, with a height of 49 meters and a maximum slope angle of 40 degrees, allowing athletes more time in the air to show off their technique.

Looking to ensure all of the events run smoothly, PyeongChang has already commenced the operational stages of the Olympics preparations, with the Hello PyeongChang test events beginning earlier this year.

“We successfully staged Olympics test events in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding,” said Lee Hee-beom, head of the organizing committee for the games, during the World Press Briefing in PyeongChang last month. Over 20 test events are set to take place from now until April.

The test events act not only as a unique opportunity for athletes and officials to familiarize themselves with the competition venues in the host region, but it also allows the public to participate and engage with the events prior to the official start of the games. A total of 3,000 athletes -- many of them visiting Korea for the first time -- are expected to participate in the test events, including snowboarding, figure skating and short track speed skating.

“You will also get to experience Korea‘s cutting-edge information technology at the PyeongChang Olympics. We will generate mass impacts, but at minimal costs,” Lee said, adding his assurance that Korea would leave a “successful footprint” with the upcoming Winter Games.

Last week Lee announced that Korea had already raised more than enough funds to ensure that PyeongChang will be one of the most successful and well-organized events the country has ever hosted, further strengthening his agenda to allow Asian winter sports to develop and compete at the level of Europe and North America. 

“PyeongChang and Gangwon Province will re-emerge as the mecca of winter sports,” he says.

While previous host countries of Olympic Games have suffered grave financial detriments -- mainly due to venues not being used -- Gunilla Lindberg, the IOC’s Coordination Commission on PyeongChang, said one of PyeongChang’s biggest pledges in its venue “legacy” plans is vowing not to let any of the newly built Olympics venues go unused following the event.

According to committee members, legacy plans have already been determined for 10 of PyeongChang’s 12 Olympic venues, with those for the other two currently being finalized.

For spectators looking to experience all the splendors of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in person, tickets to all the sporting events -- including the opening and closing ceremonies -- will go on sale in February, setting off the one-year countdown to the games.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)