Olympic candidate North Jeolla to hold 8 sports in Seoul

North Jeolla Province, the Korean candidate for the 2036 Summer Olympics, said Thursday eight sports will take place in Seoul if it wins the bid for the competition.

According to officials in the province, located in the southwestern part of the country, Seoul has agreed to host athletics, handball, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball and track races in cycling, plus some preliminary games in basketball and football.

North Jeolla defeated Seoul in February to become the Korean candidate for the 2036 Olympics, with India, Qatar, Turkey and Chile among other countries also in the running.

The provincial capital of Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, has taken the lead role, and the province plans to spread out events to its neighbors.

If Korea wins the bid, Daegu will be home to shooting events, while Gwangju will have some football preliminary matches and the gold medal game for baseball.

Jeonju will have the archery finals, plus skateboarding, 3-on-3 basketball and BMX. Other cities and counties in North Jeolla, including Muju and Gochang, will also host events, provincial officials said.

According to North Jeolla, 51 venues will be used for the Olympics — 32 inside the province and 19 in other regions.

"The venue plans reflect opinions of the International Olympic Committee and other stakeholders. While making the most of existing infrastructure, the plans also meet international standards," said Yoo Hee-sook, head of the province's Olympic bidding committee. "Hosting the Summer Olympics here will strengthen our national brand."

Yoo said the possibility of having Seoul as a formal co-host "has not been explored."

"As a successful host of the 1988 Olympics, Seoul has many different types of infrastructure," Yoo said. "We expect Seoul to be a great cooperative partner."

Korea is trying to become the eighth country — joining the United States, Australia, Britain, France, Japan, Germany and Greece — to stage multiple Summer Olympics.