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    July 06, 2011

Olympic Hopefuls Make Final Pitch to Host Winter Games


   IOC President Jacques Rogge hands over a plaque to freestyle skier
   Kevin Rolland during the Annecy bid city presentation to the 123rd
   International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Durban. The South
   Korean city of Pyeongchang starts as favourite to win Photo: Reuters
   IOC President Jacques Rogge hands over a plaque to freestyle skier
   Kevin Rolland during the Annecy bid city presentation to the 123rd
   International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Durban, July 6, 2011

   Officials from South Korea and two European rivals are making their
   final presentations to the [1]International Olympic Committee in a
   fierce contest to see who will host the 2018 Winter Games.
   The South Korean city of Pyeonchang was seen as the favorite ahead of
   the committee's announcement in Durban, South Africa Wednesday
   afternoon at 1500 UTC. Analysts said the bid from Munich, Germany, was
   also strong, while Annecy, France, faced longer odds.
   All three countries have leading political and sports personalities in
   Durban for their last-minute pitches, with South Korea represented by
   President Lee Myung-bak and figure skating champion Kim Yu-na. German
   President Christian Wulff is heading the Munich team while French Prime
   Minister Francois Fillon is in Durban for Annecy.
   South Korea in particular has staked its prestige on a successful bid,
   having narrowly lost out to Vancouver, Canada, and Sochi, Russia, in
   its last two bids. Lee urged his delegation late Tuesday to "put all
   our souls and might" into the effort.
   If the Pyeonchang bid is successful, it would become only the third
   Asian city to host the Winter Olympics. The two previous Olympiads were
   both hosted by Japan, most recently at Nagano in 1998.
   South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

References

   1. http://www.olympic.org/

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