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192525
Sun, 07/03/2011 - 12:05
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https://oananews.org//node/192525
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Lee rehearses crucial IOC presentation for PyeongChang's Olympic bid
ATTN: UPDATES with Lee holding rehearsal, strategy meeting in paras 1-11, CHANGES photo)
By Chang Jae-soon
DURBAN (Yonhap) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak practiced showcasing the merits of PyeongChang as a potential host for the 2018 Winter Olympics as he held a dress-rehearsal Sunday for the alpine city's final presentation before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later this week.
Lee arrived in the South African port city of Durban on Saturday to make final pitches for South Korea's third consecutive attempt to bring the Winter Olympics to PyeongChang. The IOC is scheduled to pick the host city of the 2018 Games at a meeting on Wednesday.
Lee will be the main speaker during PyeongChang's final presentation at the IOC meeting.
Details of the closed-door rehearsal were not available.
His trip halfway around the world to Durban shows how much importance South Korea has attached to PyeongChang's decade-long effort to host the Winter Olympics. PyeongChang narrowly lost to Canada's Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and then to Russia's Sochi for the 2014 Games.
PyeongChang is now running against Munich of Germany and Annecy of France.
Widespread views are that it will be a two-way race between PyeongChang and Munich.
Earlier Sunday, Lee held a strategy meeting to discuss how to boost PyeongChang's chances. Participants included Cho Yang-ho, head of the bid committee, and Park Yong-sung, president of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), as well as Culture and Sports Minister Choung Byoung-gug and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.
"We have to check every detail thoroughly. We should not make any mistake until the end," Lee said at the meeting, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "Sincerity moves heaven. Let's move heaven."
Lee was also quoted as saying that he practiced so much for Wednesday's presentation while flying here that it "hurt my throat." Lee plans to speak in English during PyeongChang's final presentation before IOC members, Park said.
The strategy meeting reviewed various scenarios, including the case of a runoff vote, he said.
"The president is moving around the clock for PyeongChang," the spokesman said.
The snow-prone town of PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, has emphasized that its hosting of the Olympics will help promote winter sports in Asia. So far, Japan is the only Asian nation to have hosted the Winter Games, with Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.
South Korea is a winter sports powerhouse in Asia and home to world figure skating star Kim Yu-na. The country finished fifth in the gold medal tally at last year's Vancouver Olympics with six golds and came in third with 13 golds in this year's Asian Games after Kazakhstan and Japan.
PyeongChang has also stressed as one of its strong points that athletes won't have to waste time on the road because all of its facilities will be close to each other and accessible in just half an hour.
South Korean officials have declined to talk about the prospect of PyeongChang's bid, only saying that they will do their best until the last moment.
By Chang Jae-soon
DURBAN (Yonhap) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak practiced showcasing the merits of PyeongChang as a potential host for the 2018 Winter Olympics as he held a dress-rehearsal Sunday for the alpine city's final presentation before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later this week.
Lee arrived in the South African port city of Durban on Saturday to make final pitches for South Korea's third consecutive attempt to bring the Winter Olympics to PyeongChang. The IOC is scheduled to pick the host city of the 2018 Games at a meeting on Wednesday.
Lee will be the main speaker during PyeongChang's final presentation at the IOC meeting.
Details of the closed-door rehearsal were not available.
His trip halfway around the world to Durban shows how much importance South Korea has attached to PyeongChang's decade-long effort to host the Winter Olympics. PyeongChang narrowly lost to Canada's Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and then to Russia's Sochi for the 2014 Games.
PyeongChang is now running against Munich of Germany and Annecy of France.
Widespread views are that it will be a two-way race between PyeongChang and Munich.
Earlier Sunday, Lee held a strategy meeting to discuss how to boost PyeongChang's chances. Participants included Cho Yang-ho, head of the bid committee, and Park Yong-sung, president of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), as well as Culture and Sports Minister Choung Byoung-gug and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.
"We have to check every detail thoroughly. We should not make any mistake until the end," Lee said at the meeting, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "Sincerity moves heaven. Let's move heaven."
Lee was also quoted as saying that he practiced so much for Wednesday's presentation while flying here that it "hurt my throat." Lee plans to speak in English during PyeongChang's final presentation before IOC members, Park said.
The strategy meeting reviewed various scenarios, including the case of a runoff vote, he said.
"The president is moving around the clock for PyeongChang," the spokesman said.
The snow-prone town of PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, has emphasized that its hosting of the Olympics will help promote winter sports in Asia. So far, Japan is the only Asian nation to have hosted the Winter Games, with Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.
South Korea is a winter sports powerhouse in Asia and home to world figure skating star Kim Yu-na. The country finished fifth in the gold medal tally at last year's Vancouver Olympics with six golds and came in third with 13 golds in this year's Asian Games after Kazakhstan and Japan.
PyeongChang has also stressed as one of its strong points that athletes won't have to waste time on the road because all of its facilities will be close to each other and accessible in just half an hour.
South Korean officials have declined to talk about the prospect of PyeongChang's bid, only saying that they will do their best until the last moment.
