Pyeongchang elected host of 2018 Winter Olympics

By Peter Auf der Heyde Jul 6, 2011, 15:19 GMT

Durban, South Africa - South Korea's Pyeongchang was Wednesday elected to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in a ballot by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), IOC president Jacques Rogge announced.

Pyeongchang beat rivals Munich and the French venue Annecy in the first round of voting at the 123rd IOC Session in the South African coastal town of Durban.

Pyeongchang received 63 votes, while Munich received 25. Annecy received just seven votes.

When Rogge made the announcement, the South Korean delegation in the International Conference Hall in Durban started waving Korean flags and chanted dae-han-min-guk, or Korea.

The South Korean city has twice before unsuccessfully bid to host the Winter Olympics and in their final presentation to the IOC members earlier in the day mentioned that several times.

The Pyeongchang bid was built around the concept of 'new horizons', promising the IOC an inroad into a new market and giving athletes from countries that traditionally do not compete in winter sports an opportunity to do so.

The last time that the hosts were decided in the first round of voting was in 1995, when Salt Lake City won the right to host the 2002 Winter Games against Sion, Ostersund and Quebec City.

Read more about 2018

Read more about Olympics IOC

Read more about Olympics 2018