The city of Pyeongchang Friday officially announced its bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, making it the third attempt to host a winter Olympics, People’s Daily in China reported Saturday.
Pyeongchang, 180 km east of Seoul, in Gangwon province, hopes to host the 2018 Winter Olympics after missing out on the 2010 and 2014 Games.
Meanwhile, four months after serving as host of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China is mulling a bid to host the 2018 Winter Games in the northern city of Harbin, state media said in December. The city will host the 2009 Winter Universiade in February. China sees the event as a test of China's ability to host a winter Games.
If the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) confirms Pyeongchang as the country's candidate, which is wildly expected, a bidding committee will be established by March, a spokesman of Gangwon Province said.
The host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics will be decided at an IOC general assembly slated for July 2011 in Durban, South Africa.