Journey begins for PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics

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• published: 05 Feb 2016
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평창동계올림픽 2년 앞으로... Summer of 2011 has a special place in the hearts of many Koreans. The entire country watched in anticipation... with high hopes of PyeongChang winning its third Olympic bid. Then, there it was. Jacques Rogge flipping THE card in his hands that read PyeongChang - the host city of the 2018 Games. That was 2011. Four and a half years later... here we are in February 2016... and the PyeongChang 2018 organizers have announced that their first test events are set to begin. The PyeongChang Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games held a press conference this week marking two years from the Winter Games. "Our first World Cup this week marks the official start of our journey to the 2018 Games. We have moved from the planning phase of the Games to the operational phase, and with two years left, finalizing many details. We are working very closely with the IOC, IPC and the IFs to make sure everything is ready." The 2016 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup kicks off tomorrow with 58 athletes from 16 nations. It will be the first international competition held at the newly opened PyeongChang Olympics venue - the Jeongseon slope - a major test as concerns had been raised about the readiness there. The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place in two clusters... spread throughout PyeongChang, nearby Bogwang and Jeongseon. The mountain cluster where the Olympic Stadium is located will feature skiing and sliding events. All seven venues in PyeongChang and Jeongseon will be within a half an hour drive from the Olympic Village. Bogwang will host the snowboard and freestyle ski events... while Jeongseon will host Alpine ski competitions. The coastal cluster will be home to the ice events such as ice hockey, curling and skating. All five venues at the coastal cluster will be within 10 minutes from the Olympic Village. All events will take place within half an hour drive from the main center in PyeongChang... making it one of the most compact venues in Winter Olympics history. Hundreds of thousands of athletes, officials, and visitors are expected in Korea during the Winter Olympics. But, remember PyeongChang is a small town of 300-thousand people. Will there be enough supply of accommodation? "I'm sure there are concerns about accommodation as PyeongChang is not a big city. But, we have already secured 20-thousand rooms of 3-star quality and above. We also have a contingency plan: The high speed train." High speed train. If the high speed train is completed on schedule in 2017... visitors will be able to reach PyeongChang in less than 70 minutes from the Incheon International Airport. Travel time from PyeongChang to Seoul will be less than an hour which means you have the option of staying in the nation's capital. When it comes to the future of winter sports, global warming has us skating on thin ice. Does PyeongChang have a contingency plan? "I agree that that warm weather conditions may hamper us in two years. Therefore, we will make sure our snowmaking capacity will be at not 100 percent but,120 percent. We are also studying the snow storage systems which were used at the Sochi and Vancouver Olympics." Another key factor to a successful Olympic Games? Drumming up enthusiasm amongst the public: both domestically and overseas. How do we do that? I asked what the organizers had in mind. "The president said that you're moving away from the planning phase and now on to the operation phase, I'd like to know what kind of international promotional events or efforts are in the works or you have planned for the rest of this year and next?" "It is critical to boost public awareness of the PyeongChang Olympics. We have begun promotional activities both at home and abroad. We've recently opened the PyeongChang House in Gangneung and we will also be putting up installments in public places such as airports and train stations. For overseas, we are working with Korea Tourism Organization and the Korean Culture and Information Services." "This will not be possible without the cooperation of the media - both domestic and international. For overseas promotion, I would like to particularly ask Arirang TV to do your part. That will be key to the success of the games. Will do, will do. This is Arirang News' first installment of a series of PyeongChang 2018 coverage... throughout this month - the test events... all the way leading up the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Let's keep our Passion. Connected. 'till then. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld