 Reporter for Munchner Merkur |
A German reporter has said North Korea’s existence could be an advantage for PyeongChang’s bid for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
“The conflict with North Korea might even turn into an advantage. For a long time the IOC has been flirting with the idea of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It might even prefer PyeongChang in order to set a symbol for peace in the region,” Matthias Kristlbauer, an Olympic expert reporter for Munchner Merkur, said in an e-mail interview.
The Munchner Merkur is a daily newspaper in Munich, Germany, with a circulation of around 250,000.
After the IOC’s Evaluation Commission made its on-site inspection of PyeongChang in February the commission mentioned that North Korea is not a threatening factor.
Gunilla Lindberg, chairwoman of the evaluation commission, said, “We have had the situation for the past 60 years in North Korea and during that time Korea has hosted the Summer Olympic Games, the University Games, and will hold The World Athletics Championships this summer.”
The IOC has already seen that holding the Olympics in South Korea can help bring peace throughout the world.
The 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics is seen as having played a part in ending the Cold War.
While PyeongChang, along with Munich and Annecy of France, is bidding to host the 2018 Winter Games, Kristlbauer said Munich and PyeongChang have about the same chance of winning the Games.
“I think the chances are 50:50 between PyeongChang and Munich. PyeongChang has a strong bid, the most compact venue concept and is supported by the vast majority of the Korean people. On the other hand, Germany is well known as an established winter sport nation and has proven to be a professional host for giant sports events.
“I think that Annecy has virtually no chance to win — although it would provide the most beautiful scenery for the Games. But the venue concept is just not compact enough.”
The 43-year-old German reporter also explained that the support of figure skating star Kim Yu-na is “without a doubt” helpful for PyeongChang’s bid.
Kristlbauer also commented on IOC vice president Thomas Bach of Germany, who is a strong contender to be the next IOC president.
“Thomas Bach cannot be compared to Putin. First of all he is not a state politician but a sports representative. As IOC vice president he probably has a lot of influence on IOC members, but he also has to be careful because he wants to become IOC president,” Kristlbauer said.
When PyeongChang bid for the 2014 Winter Games, in 2007 then Russian President Vladimir Putin headed to the IOC General Assembly in Guatemala, where the host city was announced and saw Sochi, his nation’s candidate, named the winner.
In closing, the German reporter mentioned another strong point for PyeongChang’s bid.
“Generally speaking, it is not always the best bid that wins. Pyongchang of all cities should know that — since it lost against Sochi in 2014. If I had to bet my money on one city I would give it to Pyeongchang — because the city is bidding for the third time.”
