LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP)—The three cities vying for the 2018 Winter Olympics took their campaign directly to the IOC on Wednesday, seeking to gain vital support just weeks ahead of the vote.The German bid team from Munich was the first making its case to members of the International Olympic Committee, with presentations to follow from Annecy, France, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Each city had 45 minutes for presentations featuring speeches and videos, followed by another 45 minutes for questions and answers.
South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-Na waves upon her arrival from the World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, at Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, on May 2, 2011. Kim said she will not compete for Grand Prix titles later this year due to her busy schedule promoting the country's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. AFP PHOTO / PARK HWA-YONG
South Korean figure skating st…
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The IOC said 88 of its 110 members were attending the closed-door briefings at the Olympic Museum on the shores of Lake Geneva. On Thursday, the members will visit the bid cities’ exhibition rooms at a Lausanne hotel.
The presentations are considered crucial in the race, which culminates with the IOC vote in Durban, South Africa, on July 6.
The bid teams featured athletes and senior government officials from the three countries, including German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.
Two global figure skating stars figured prominently—two-time gold medalist Katarina Witt, who chairs the Munich bid, and Kim Yu-na, the reigning Olympic champion who will be part of Pyeongchang’s presentation.
The 20-year-old South Korean said she felt more nervous than when she won the gold medal in Vancouver last year.
“This is not a personal competition. It will be for the whole country,” she said. “There is a lot more pressure on my shoulders.”
Pyeongchang, bidding for a third consecutive time after narrow defeats in the voting for the 2010 and 2014 Games, has been widely considered the front-runner as it seeks to bring the Winter Games to a new territory in Asia.
Munich, the 1972 Olympic host which is seeking to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games, has been seen as the main challenger, with Annecy lagging behind.
An IOC evaluation commission report issued last week said all three cities could host successful games.
“These are really three bids centered on the welfare of the athletes,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said Tuesday. “You have stunning geography. You have great experience in staging big events. You have very good infrastructure, so really it’s very reassuring.”
Munich received a major boost on Tuesday with the announcement that the bid had secured the last piece of land needed for the games, a piece of land in the finish area of the Kandahar downhill ski course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
It’s the second time the IOC has arranged a special meeting with bid cities ahead of a vote, and the first for Winter Games candidates.
The first such meeting in 2009 proved pivotal for Rio de Janeiro, which picked up support that carried the Brazilian city to victory a few months later in the vote for the 2016 Olympics.
The 2018 bid cities will make their final presentations on the day of the vote in Durban.
Stephen Wilson can be reached at http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap