PyeongChang Olympics mark 500-day countdown
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Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, fourth from left, visits a construction site for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games along with the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) President Lee Hee-beom, third from left, during his visit to Korea, on Sept. 23. Courtesy of POCOG
By Baek Byung-yeul
As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics marked its 500-day countdown, Tuesday, the organizing committee for Korea’s first-ever Winter Games said they are on the right track in preparing for the upcoming mega sports event.
The 2018 Winter Games will take place in the mountain resort town of PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul and the neighboring towns in Gangwon Province. With less than 17 months to go until Korea’s first-ever Winter Games, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) said they are “making the transition from the planning phase to operational readiness.”
“Six out of 12 venues will be newly built and six venues will be refurbished to meet global sporting standards. As of September, 88 percent of the entire construction program is complete and right on track for the test events starting in November,” the POCOG said.
As the venues are getting ready, the POCOG will rehearse for the actual event by hosting a series of test events from November to April next year. Starting with the Audi FIS Ski World Cup race, which already successfully took place in Jeongseon, a neighboring town of PyeongChang, test events will be conducted before the 2018 Winter Games.
There have been potential transportation issues given the chronic traffic congestion to the venues. The POCOG said the high speed railway will be completed next June to reduce travel time between Seoul and PyeongChang from three hours to one hour, and from Incheon International Airport to PyeongChang from three and a half hours to less than two hours. Also, the second Yeongdong Expressway, which will be completed by June, will also allow visitors to get to the venue faster.
Officials from the International Olympic Committee also expressed satisfaction over POCOG’s preparations.
The representatives from the IOC, including its President Thomas Bach and Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, visited the host city for a few days and said, “We see great progress in PyeongChang,” and “keep the enthusiasm, keep the energy!”
The POCOG has been facing mounting criticism for hosting such a large scale event which would result in fewer benefits than costs, but the POCOG said the 2018 Winter Games will bring direct and indirect benefits not only for the local community but also for neighboring counties.
“PyeongChang 2018 is building human resources and nurturing talent for Korea to become a world leading winter sports nation. Through focused investment in sporting infrastructure and better support and information for the general public, the Olympic Winter Games will attract young sporting talent,” the POCOG said.
As three East Asian countries are hosting the next three Olympics and Paralympics _ the 2018 Winter Games in Korea, the Tokyo 2020 Games and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing _ the POCOG said PyeongChang will become a starting point of the future prosperity of Asia as they can establish closer links among the next host countries and build bridges through sports.
The POCOG held events throughout the nation under the theme “Time for PyeongChang 2018” to celebrate the forthcoming Olympics.
In Seoul, a countdown event took place at Han River Park in Yeouido, featuring K-pop stars. Gangneung, the other host city in Gangwon Province, where Olympic ice hockey events will be held, staged a concert featuring opera singers and a civic choir at Gangneung Olympic Park.