Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Nature lends a hand as Pyeongchang readies for IOC
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Nature lends a hand as Pyeongchang readies for IOC
AFP - Tuesday, February 15
Send
IM Story
Print
Nature lends a hand as Pyeongchang readies for IOC
SEOUL (AFP) - – Record snowfall blanketed South Korea's Pyeongchang Monday for the arrival of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) team, as nature lent a hand in the resort's third bid for the winter Olympics.
Up to 100 centimetres (39 inches) of snow fell in some mountain areas near the alpine resort Friday and Saturday, the heaviest for a century.
Thousands of government workers and soldiers were mobilised for snow-clearing, focusing on roads leading to Pyeongchang.
While the storm caused property damage of about 4.8 billion won ($4.3 million) in the area, it helped the resort in Gangwon province overcome one of its perceived weaknesses: a shortage of snow.
"We can present a wonderful stage as the venue for winter sports," said Park Jong-Hoon, a senior bidding committee official.
Pyeongchang, 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of Seoul, is competing with Annecy in France and Germany's Munich for the 2018 event.
The IOC delegation visited Annecy last week and will travel on to Munich before announcing the host on July 6 in the South African city of Durban.
About 1,200 residents waved placards and flags with welcoming messages Monday, as a 14-member IOC inspection team led by Gunilla Lindberg of Sweden arrived in Pyeongchang. They will start a four-day inspection from Wednesday.
Pyeongchang lost out to Vancouver for the 2010 event and to Russia's Sochi for 2014.
South Korea has its eye on a third world sporting event after staging the 1988 Summer Olympics and co-hosting the 2002 World Cup with Japan. It says it is time the winter Games came back to Asia.
The continent has hosted the event only twice, both times in Japan -- at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.
"It's time for Asia to host the winter Games. Pyeongchang's bid conforms with the Olympic spirit," a senior government official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
He said IOC inspectors should consider the tremendous enthusiasm in South Korea for the 2018 event, and an explosion of interest in winter sports across Asia generally.
"Open new horizons for the winter Olympics in Asia!" is Pyeongchang's slogan for its third bid.
The town is decorated with colourful flags, placards and ribbons expressing the hopes of residents, who will hold concerts and festivals this week to greet the IOC team.
"We are well prepared... and united better than before," the official said, citing full support from President Lee Myung-Bak who will visit the resort Tuesday to welcome the IOC team.
South Korean sports officials concede that winning the IOC vote will not be easy but Pyeongchang remains confident. It has worked to overcome weakness in catering, logistics, transportation and accommodation.
New highways were built and the government plans to upgrade railroads and other infrastructure if Pyeongchang wins.
The province has invested more than $1.5 billion to build new facilities including Alpensia, the main venue with ski slopes, hotels, restaurants, golf courses and a convention centre.
Alpensia will host events such as the ski jump, cross country and biathlon, while the nearby city of Gangneung will be home to skating and hockey.
Seven out of the 13 necessary sites are already in place with all venues accessible by bus within 30 minutes of each other.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Philippine Maoists demand release of arrested leader Reuters - 41 minutes ago
Pakistan Islamists warn of protests if U.S. prisoner freed Reuters - 1 hour 12 minutes ago
US-South Korea war games amid tensions with North AFP - 1 hour 32 minutes ago
Long-awaited Philippine peace talks resume AFP - 2 hours 11 minutes ago
UN urges 'permanent' Thai-Cambodia ceasefire AFP - Tuesday, February 15
News Search
Top Stories
Ecuador orders Chevron pay $8 bln over oil damage
Beckham libel and slander lawsuit dismissed
Mystery bug claims more victims at Playboy mansion
Love and money fuels global Valentine's Day ardour
Obama eyes tax hikes, spending cuts to curb deficit
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
US golfer Woods finds old habits hard to shake
Russia loses military satellite: reports
US auto sales jump 17 percent in January
Dow closes over 12,000 for first time since June 2008
Egypt's Mubarak to step down at September election
More Most Viewed »
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo!
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Entertainment
Photos
Yahoo! News Network
Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Tuesday, 15 February 2011 South Darfur expels French NGO: governor
US-TECH Summary
Obama eyes tax hikes, spending cuts to curb deficit
Acer sees 2011 mobile PC market up 10-12 percent
Moscow metro roof-riding kills two
Brazil footballer Ronaldo ends 'marvellous' career
Microsoft says to bring full power of web to phones
Kremlin 'bans critical ballerina from TV'
Palestinian cabinet quits in reform move by Abbas
|
Experiment volunteers 'walk on Mars'
Stone Key drives cybersecurity dealmaking
Racism trial exposes discrimination rift in France
|
Nokia's strategy shift could cost 6,000 Finnish jobs: union
Small plane crashes in Honduras, killing 14
|
Motorola Mobility buys mobile software firm 3LM
Syria stonewalls on site IAEA wants to see: sources
|
Lebanon's outgoing PM Hariri goes into opposition
|
U.S. criticizes Myanmar government threat on Suu Kyi
Spanish police hold Nintendo 'blackmailer'
Protester killed in Bahrain Day of Rage: witnesses
|
Microsoft CEO promises better Windows Phone
Judge's aide says Khodorkovsky verdict dictated
|
UN urges 'permanent' Thai-Cambodia ceasefire
Samsung upsizes iPad rival, the Galaxy Tab
Myanmar up to 'old tricks' with threats to Suu Kyi: US
Motorola falls on report on cheaper iPhones
Nokia's strategy shift could cost 6,000 Finnish jobs: union
Taiwan's Tseng takes top spot ahead of Thailand opener
Motorola Mobility buys mobile software firm 3LM
Japan overtaken by China as No. 2 economy
Cambodia to ask UN to help secure ceasefire
Microsoft says to bring full power of web to phones
Bangladesh investors riot again as stocks plunge
Microsoft CEO promises better Windows Phone
Pakistan charges killer in blasphemy case
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Twitter dismisses reports of Google interest
|
Samsung upsizes iPad rival, the Galaxy Tab
Fight against radicals won't be tweeted
Grammy TV audience hits 11-year high
Motorola falls on report on cheaper iPhones
Jakarta sees more suicides ahead of Valentine's Day
Microsoft CEO promises better Windows Phone
|
Pyramid guides urge tourists to return to Egypt
Indonesian terror suspect Ba'asyir raised $112k to fund terror
IBM's 'Watson' to take on Jeopardy! champs
Sony Ericsson unveils first PlayStation smartphone
RIM to offer PlayBook on more high-speed standards
|
Budapest gay pride banned by police: organisers
Stone Key drives cybersecurity dealmaking
|
Nokia's turnaround risks 5,000 Finnish jobs: union
See-through dress which snared a prince up for sale
Four-legged beauties open NY dog show
Radiohead ditch 'pay what you want' for new album
'Pan Negre' triumphs at Spain's Goyas film awards
Acer sees 2011 mobile PC market up 10-12 percent
|
GM recalls 2,800 imported cars in China: report
N. Korea reduces capital's size: report
India's Satyam reports profit upturn, shares soar
India's Reliance Com quarterly profit halves
Repsol signs first Asian LNG supply deal
Pakistani rupee eases vs dollar; stock index flat
Top Korea think tank warns of more inflation pressure
Private equity group EQT buys Taiwan's Gala TV
Grammy TV audience hits 11-year high
|
Shakespeare could have been filmmaker, Fiennes says
|
One dead as Iran protesters clash with police
Tunisia coastguard accused of sinking migrant vessel
Clinton renews push for free use of Internet
Iran opposition protests, agency reports shooting
Court to hear challenge in Twitter-WikiLeaks case
Ecuador orders Chevron pay $8 bln over oil damage
Egypt's military seeks to restore stability
|
Beckham libel and slander lawsuit dismissed
Military urges halt to strikes gripping Egypt
Mobile app store GetJar raises $25 million
Mystery bug claims more victims at Playboy mansion
Egypt's military seeks to restore stability
Huawei resisting calls to divest 3Leaf
Pakistan Islamists warn of protests if U.S. prisoner freed
|
LG Elec targets 30 percent rise in 2011 handset sales
Lebanon's Hariri joins opposition ranks
Love and money fuels global Valentine's Day ardour
China openly backs North Korea succession plan: KCNA
|
Lawsuit accuses Google of stealing trade secrets
Experiment volunteers 'walk on Mars'
Vimpelcom CEO sees high chance for Wind deal success
Police chief killed in Mexico's richest city
|
Middle East and North Africa rocked by protests
Palace intrigue: the last days of Mubarak's rule
Chrome users can block unwanted websites
China official backs N. Korea succession: KCNA
RIM to offer PlayBook on more high-speed standards
Egypt 'faces wave of strikes'
Poignant Chinese AIDS film moves Berlin festival
World Cup hopes drive New Zealand rugby coach
LG Elec targets 30 percent rise in 2011 handset sales
China openly backs North Korea succession plan
Protesters back in Cairo's Tahrir Square
Spider-Man gets "Amazing" in new title
World Cup organisers act against online scalpers
Microsoft CEO promises better Windows Phone
Japan's ruling party seeks to punish powerbroker
Microsoft says to bring full power of web to phones
India, China growth race 'silly', says Nobel winner
Dell's margins in spotlight, Wall Street waits and sees
|
Justin Bieber 3D film might get director's cut
Mobile app store GetJar raises $25 million
|
Man ties machine on Day 1 of "Jeopardy!" showdown
IBM computer, Jeopardy! champ tied after first day
Man ties machine on Day 1 of Jeopardy! showdown
|
Nature lends a hand as Pyeongchang readies for IOC
"Spider-Man" broadway sales up despite bad reviews
X-rays reveal why Van Gogh's yellows turn brown
Woman charged with trespassing at DeGeneres' home
Lawsuit accuses Google of stealing trade secrets
|
Judge dismisses Beckham's libel suit against magazine
Sandler edges Bieber at box office
LG Elec targets 30 percent rise in 2011 handset sales
|
Charlie Sheen says ready to return to TV sitcom
Huawei resisting calls to divest 3Leaf
|
Seoul shares slip after volatile trade; LG Elec up
Bank of Japan upgrades economic view, holds rates
China says January inflation remains high at 4.9%
Korea Line says in court receivership
Pakistan
Asia Naphtha-S Korea S-Oil to sell spot;LG Chem, Honam seek lots
Japan Inc's profit surges: survey
Justin Bieber 3D film might get director's cut
|
Charlie Sheen says ready to return to TV sitcom
|
S.Korea Jan LNG, coal imports jump on power demand
Oscar ad spending bill $720 million in last decade
|
Seoul shares slip after volatile trade; LG Elec up
Canada minister to make statement on Globalive ruling
Save money but lose weight with Korean banks
US request for Twitter account details 'outrageous': Assange
Spider-Man broadway sales up despite bad reviews
|
Man ties machine on Day 1 of Jeopardy! showdown
|
Commercial launch for multi-firm WAC mobile apps group
Woman charged with trespassing at DeGeneres' home
|
Spider-Man gets Amazing in new title
|
Tunisia coast guard accused of ramming migrant boat
Iran lawmakers urge death for opposition leaders
Nokia aims for Windows phone by year-end
Two killed as more Bahrain protests called
Tech therapy for smartphone-stressed mobile operators
US picks new Afghanistan-Pakistan envoy: report
Eurozone economy sputters in fourth quarter
HTC unveils 5 smartphone models, tablet
Egypt's Mubarak in failing health: paper
|
Blast at shopping mall in Afghan capital kills 2
Mobile Fair-Nokia CEO says aiming for Windows phone by year-end
Wiz Khalifa earns first-ever #1 single on Billboard Hot 100 with "Black and Yellow"
San Francisco and Miami top list of the sexiest cities in America
Berlusconi to face trial over prostitution scandal
|
Lindsay Lohan pleads not guilty to felony grand theft charges
Taliban warns Pakistan against releasing U.S. prisoner
Iran MPs want death penalty for opposition leaders
|
Nicki Minaj earns first week at #1 on Billboard albums chart with Pink Friday
American murder suspect 'protests' prayer call in jail
Tunisia struggles to tame revolutionary spirit
|
Pavilion celebrates Taiwan's centennial
Over 200 dead in south Sudan massacre: officials
|
Clinton picks new U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Pakistan
Thousands of protesters march to Bahrain capital
|
South Korea winter resort city confident on third bid
Argentina, US in diplomatic spat after cargo seized
Protesters and loyalists clash in Yemen
|
Irish actor T.P McKenna dies aged 81
German admits to fathering 7 with step-daughter
|
Japan to speed up recovery of Iwo Jima war remains
Anna Nicole Smith to crash genteel world of opera
Dalai Lama's nephew killed in US accident
Iranian drama cheered at Berlin fest
Philippines start new peace talks with Maoists
Rocker Slash to sell car, guitars in auction
US-South Korea war games amid tensions with North
Street cricketers live by their own rules
Taiwan's AU Optronics pushes into solar energy
Long-awaited Philippine peace talks resume
Bryan Adams Delhi gig cancelled at last minute
Pakistan to announce results of PIBs on Tuesday
Asian literary prize shortlist to be unveiled
Higher rates won't worsen household debt -official
Apple rolls out digital subscription service
|
Oscar ad spending bill $720 million in last decade
S.Korea court rejects first tobacco lawsuit
Nokia aims for Windows phone by year-end
|
America Movil eyes Polkomtel
|
Kirin to sell shares in Chinese brewer
Asia Naphtha-S Korea Honam, LG Chem wrap up March spot purchases
HTC unveils 5 smartphone models, tablet
|
Huawei leaves US deal's fate to Obama: report
Sirius XM's revenue outlook falls short
|
Anti-immigration activist guilty of murdering father, child in home invasion
Report: FDA oversight weak of medical devices
Study suggests ecstasy does not harm cognitive ability
Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget proposal for 2012
Mother, son found dead in dumpster
Dalai Lama's nephew killed by car in Florida
iPad bumps off Netbook as hottest gadget
New Spider-Man movie gets "Amazing" official title
Wal-Mart downgrade pulls Dow down
Senate could reveal classified information on Fort Hood shooting
Anna Nicole Smith to crash genteel world of opera
|
Gang Of Four seek contentment on new album
|
Princess Di's brother Earl Spencer to marry again
|
Moving Iran drama lights up Berlin film festival
|
Cassavetes to direct film about drug dealer Rick Ross
|
Rocker Slash to sell car, guitars in auction
|
Irish actor T.P McKenna dies aged 81
|
Obama generates Beatles style excitement among students
China, Colombia eye Pacific-Atlantic rail link to boost Asia-Latin America trade
Missed Celebrating Mistress Day? Look At The List Of The Top 10 Mistresses
Italy to send troops to Tunisia to block asylum seekers
Obama wore Gibbs tie during 2004 Democratic National Convention
Granddaughter seeks share of Einstein estate profits
Ethics gaffs prompt Sarkozy to ban French ministers from taking any foreign holidays
John Daly's new golf bag is straight out of the Caddyshack movie
Away from the cities, Saudi Women take to the roads despit ban on women drivers
Pirates free Korean ship after hostages could no longer be fed
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights