Pyeongchang Olympic committee: All events will be held in Korea

Cho Yang-ho, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games, on Friday reaffirmed that all the Winter Olympic events will be held in South Korea.

He rejected the International Olympic Committee`s (IOC) offer to split some events with an overseas location, saying that there is “no possibility.” While Cho acknowledged that the IOC’s “Olympic Agenda 2020” offers “an effective and progressive opportunity for the future of the Olympic Movement,” he said that it will be “difficult to apply those recommendations to our plans at this stage, given that construction for all competition venues is already in progress.”

Cho also made it clear that the PyeongChang Winter Games will not be split with other cities in South Korea. “We will study the options once we receive more detailed information from the IOC,” Cho said. “But for now, it is our wish to have all events staged in PyeongChang, Gangneung and Jeongseon as per our original bid plan accepted by the IOC.”

The IOC, which plans to send inspectors to South Korea in January and February, said it would send a list of 12 locations that PyeongChang could relocate the venues for sliding events. Asked about the possibility that the IOC put pressure on PyeongChang for the proposed switch, Cho said, “We do not have much time, considering test events beginning in February 2016. We are developing solid legacy plans for post-Games use of the venues, as well as measures to control costs. We will continue to work on Games preparations in close cooperation with the IOC.”