"Oh sport - you are the world!" - This famous phrase belongs to the legendary Pierre de Coubertin. Thanks to his initiative, every 4 years the most powerful, young and courageous people of the Earth come to one of the countries in order to participate in sports of the White Olympics. In 2014, the Russian city of Sochi was honored to host the best athletes on the planet. And where will the next Winter Olympic Games be held?
The owner of the White Olympics-2018
The fact that the XXIII Olympic Winter Games will be held in South Korea in the province of Pyeongchang was announced back in 2011 at the 123rd session of the International Olympic Committee, held in Durban. In addition to Pyeongchang, Munich and the French city of Annecy fought for the right to become the owners of the main sports forum. But Pyeongchang ahead of both in the first round of voting. For many, this came as a surprise, since South Korea was not the first to participate in such elections and had always lost before.
So, in 2007, Pyeongchang lost to Sochi, which greatly upset the emotional Koreans, because they were almost sure of their victory. This confidence was so strong that some Olympic sports in South Korea had already begun to be built in advance. Then, the leaders of the Korea Sports Committee decided not to backtrack from the dream and participate in the next competition. And here the dream of the Korean people came true: Pyeongchang was declared the owner of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Pyeongchang rivals
At a time when the question of where the next Winter Olympic Games would be held was still being decided, Annecy and Munich also had hope of success. Especially strong were the chances of Munich. Indeed, in comparison with it, Pyeongchang and Annecy are just inconspicuous settlements on the world map, moreover, they are not very famous among tourists.
Munich is a completely different matter - one of the largest and most beautiful European cities with a developed infrastructure. In addition, the Olympics were already held in Munich 40 years ago. True, she was remembered throughout the world as a tragedy: a terrorist act against Israeli athletes.
Since then, the Bavarians have not ceased to hope that black memories will be washed away by holding new Olympic competitions. Many analysts predicted victory in Munich and ... were mistaken! After all, elections are won not by statistical calculations, but by people. 25 votes were cast for Munich, only 7 for Annecy, but 63 representatives of the IOC voted for Pyeongchang - the capital of the 2018 Winter Olympics was elected!
What influenced the choice?
To a large extent, the decision of the International Olympic Committee on where the next Winter Olympic Games will be held was influenced by the stubbornness of Koreans. After all, they participated in the elections for the third time and, as mentioned above, took care of the construction of new sports infrastructure facilities in advance.
South Korea entrusted an impressive futuristic presentation of her project to the young skater Yuna Kim and did not fail, this athlete is very popular worldwide. IOC President Jacques Rogge, speaking to the public after the election, described the presentation of South Korea as "a very strong and impressive project."
Rogge said that the IOC has no doubt that the XXIII Winter Olympics will leave a huge legacy, the Korean capital will then become a new beautiful center for winter sports in the Asian region. Thanks to this, new generations of young Asian athletes will be able to conduct training at home, in order to realize their Olympic dream too.
What is famous for Pyeongchang
Venue of the Olympics 2018 - the Korean province of Pyeongchang is one of the most beautiful and environmentally friendly places on the planet. Most of this area is located at an altitude that is the most favorable for health - 700 m above sea level. Mountains, fresh air, ski resorts and alpine trails attract outdoor enthusiasts from all over the world to Pyeongchang.
One of the most picturesque places in Pyeongchang is the Odesan mountain park, where you can admire the famous peaks of Pektoksan, Chanamasan and Kenbasan. In this place reign, calm and pacifying atmosphere of pristine nature. There are many historical monuments and buildings associated with Buddhism. There are so many fish in the rivers near the Tagwalen Pass in the Sukhian Valley that many people in Korea are eager to come fishing in these places.
Despite all its beauties and sights, South Korea still remains a rather poorly studied and inaccessible country for the rest of the world. The upcoming Olympic Games should fix this.
Climate Pyeongchang
It is no secret that weather conditions play an important role in achieving maximum results in winter sports. Therefore, when deciding where the next Winter Olympic Games would be held, the climate conditions of Pyeongchang were carefully studied. Some problem of these places is that in winter there is very little rainfall, which is a characteristic feature of the monsoon climate. In this, Pyeongchang is similar to Sochi.
Therefore, there are fears that real snow at the XXIII Olympic Games may not be enough. But since the Koreans are amazingly purposeful people, there is no doubt that they are able to successfully solve this problem with the help of artificial or imported snow. The main thing is that there should be no thaws and rains.
In 2009, during the World Biathlon Championships, Pyeongchang had already suffered from the unpredictability of the weather: heavy rains almost wrecked the competition, literally washing all the snow off the track. Only the colossal efforts of the organizers then helped to avoid a disruption to the championship.
Phekhang plans
Kim Jin-Sung - President of the Pyeongchang-2018 Organizing Committee, speaking at the Sochi Olympics, spoke at a press conference about plans to prepare for the next Winter Olympic Games. In particular, Kim Jin-Sung voiced some figures: it is planned to spend about $ 9 billion on the device for the Korean Olympics. Of which, 7 billion will be spent on infrastructure development and 2 billion on the construction of sports facilities and arenas. Moreover, most of the cash investments are private investments. For South Korea, the Winter Olympics is a national event that actively supports 91% of the population.
Now there is an active design of the infrastructure system and 6 stadiums. The task of the organizers of the Olympics is facilitated by the fact that at the time of the selection of Pyongyang as the capital of the 2018 Games, many sports facilities were already lined up. A feature of the South Korean Olympics is that all zones will be in maximum accessibility for fans. Moreover, any sports point can be reached on foot. In South Korea, the service sector is well developed, which should also please the guests. And Pyeongchang is considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities on Earth, so the expected Olympics have already earned the nicknames of the “greenest” in human history from journalists.
In order to learn from Russian experience in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Games, 200 specialists from Asia were present in Sochi. Sports facilities in Pyeongchang will be located following the example of the Sochi, in two separate territories: for ice and snow sports. At the conference, Kim Jin-Sung first voiced the slogan of the upcoming Winter Games: "Pyeongchang 2018 - new horizons in Asia."
South Korea Sports
Recently, South Korea has been actively developing as a sports power. There are many athletes in the country who are the pride not only of Asia, but of the whole world.
- Park Ji Sung - one of the most titled football players in Asia;
- Kim Yuna - the legendary skater, who is called the princess of figure skating;
- Hong Un-jeong - 2008 Olympic gymnastics champion;
- Im Ton Hyun - two-time Olympic archery champion;
- Park Tae Hwan - 2008 Olympic Swimming Champion;
- Song Yong Jae is the star of rhythmic gymnastics.
And many other talented athletes.
Go Russia!
4 years will fly by! Athletes around the world do not have much time left to properly prepare for the next Games. Therefore, by September 30, President Putin should be presented with a detailed plan for preparing our athletes for participation in the Winter Olympics. This program should include comprehensive measures that can improve the results of the Russian national teams in such sports as biathlon, skiing, snowboarding, Nordic combined, curling, hockey, ski jumping. Our athletes have much to strive for, we wish them good luck and success in their quest for new victories!