PyeongChang 2018 updates Winter Olympics venue plans

The organisers of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics have outlined changes to their venue plans to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Korean city's selection as host of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

PyeongChang Organising Committee (POCOG) President Jin Sun Kim said improvements to the venue masterplan have been undertaken following a POCOG review which included input from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federations and other stakeholders.

The changes aim to improve the overall Games experience and enhance the compact nature of PyeongChang's concept.

One of the key changes is to the site of the opening and closing ceremony.

Originally planned for the ski jumping venue in the Alpensia ski resort, the proposed site will be in Hoenggae, just 2 kilometres from Alpensia. The new site will be specially converted into a festive hub during Games time featuring a temporary 50,000-seat stadium.

In addition, Jungbong, one of the stand-alone venues proposed during the bid, has been confirmed as the site for the downhill events after an extensive review by the Korea Forestry Service (KFS). With the KFS having designated Jungbong as a 'Forest Genetic Resource Protection Areas', environmental groups had proposed alternative locations to host the downhill events.

Other changes include the speed skating and secondary ice hockey venues, as well as the Olympic Station.

Kim explained "the adjustments are inevitable in order to deliver the athlete and Games-oriented concept that we had promised in the bid."

In terms of overall preparations POCOG said that of the 13 competition venues, seven already are complete while six will be newly constructed. A budget of US$17.3 million has been set aside this year for design works, which have already begun,with construction is expected to be completed by October 2016. Construction and upgrading of the transportation infrastructure has started with a budget of $4.1 billion allocated for 14 projects, including the upgrading of the rail link between Incheon International Airport and Gangneung.

Kim added "since bringing the Winter Games to Korea last year, we have laid the foundations and the road map for the successful hosting of the Games in accordance with our vision of transforming Gangwon Province into a winter tourism hub in East Asia. In the past year, the PyeongChang Organising Committee has been established, a Special Act was approved to support preparation works, the ground for the Wonju-PyeongChang-Gangneung high-speed rail link was broken, and the designing of the competition venues has begun."

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