Pyeongchang Selected As Host City For 2018 Winter Olympics

2018 Winter Olympics Expected To Bring $19.8 Billion To South Korea

The San Francisco Chronicle indicates that the 2018 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Pyeongchang, South Korea on Wednesday morning, will bring nearly $20 billion to South Korea.

Hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics will directly add 21.1 trillion won ($19.8 billion) to the South Korean economy, Hyundai Research Institute said in a report published this week. Benefits from increased tourism and raising the profile of the nation and its corporate brands will indirectly add a further 43.8 trillion won to the economy in the 10 years after the Olympics, according to the report.

Pyeongchang beat out Munich, Germany and Annecy, France to be awarded the games. The Olympics will affect the Korean economy profoundly - already, stocks in construction and cement companies have risen in value, as have those of design companies and resorts, the Chronicle reports. This is, obviously, no surprise, and we'll have to see about the long-term effects on the Korean economy, but early returns are positive. 

It's also possible that the Olympics will reduce South Korea's 3.3 percent unemployment rate, CNN reports, by creating 230,000 more jobs.

2018 Winter Olympics: Pyeongchang, South Korea Selected As Host Over Munich, Germany And Annecy, France

The Winter Olympics will be heading to South Korea for the first time and Asia for only the third time, as Pyeongchang, South Korea has been selected as the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee made their selection in the first round of voting as Pyeongchang beat out two other finalists, Munich, Germany and Annecy, France.

This is the third consecutive vote that has given the Olympics to a first time venue. Russia was granted the Winter Olympics for the first time for 2014, and Brazil will host their first games as they host the 2016 Summer Olympics. This bid is believed to hurt a potential Tokyo bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

On Tuesday, the bid committee for Pyeongchang gave an emotional presentation appealing to the IOC to give them the games so that the Olympics could once again take place in a new city and a new country who was immensely excited to have the honor of hosting. They were successful in their bid, and there should be smiles all across Pyeongchang this evening.

2018 Winter Olympics: Winner Decided In First Round Of Voting, Announcement Scheduled For 11 AM ET

The members of the International Olympic Committee have finished selecting a host for the 2018 Winter Olympics, choosing the winners in just one round of voting. A press conference to announce the winning bid is expected to come at 11 am ET. Some seem to think that the very fast vote is a good omen for the bid from Pyeongchang, South Korea, which has bid unsuccessfully for the Winter Olympics in both 2010 and 2014.

Annecy, France and Munich, Germany were the other two bids that made it to the final round of voting, which took place in Durban, South Africa. The Winter Olympics have only taken place in Asia twice, and the voting in the selections for the last two sets of Olympics indicates that the IOC is not only willing to take the games to new places, but actively looking to do so. Russia and Brazil were both selected to host the Olympics for the first time in 2014 and 2016, respectably.     

2018 Winter Olympics: Pyeongchang Gives Emotional Presentation; Voting Underway

The 2018 Winter Olympics bid voting by the International Olympic Committee is underway with the announcement expected Wednesday morning, east coast time. The final presentations prior to that vote, however, made it an even more difficult decision for the IOC's 94 voters.

The three cities still in the running are Munich, Germany, France's Annecy and PyeongChang, South Korea. While PyeongChang was probably a darkhorse heading into the final presentations, the city's presenters apparently wowed the committee according to GamesBids.com.

Jin-Sun Kim, the South Korean country's ambassador, gave a presentation "filled with tears, laughter and familiarity" as he lobbied for the IOC to consider his country as the host site for the Winter Olympics once again -- despite two failed attempts already.

"I believe it is my destiny to stand before you for the third time," Kim told those in attendance before admitting to GamesBids after that "we have walked through a very rough road coming here ... I was really caught up in my own emotions."

Also in attendance supporting PyeongChang's bid were Olympic champion figure skater Yuna Kim and Toby Dawson, a Korean born American Olympic skier.

Communications Director Theresa Rah seemed to have a good grasp of what Wednesday meant to the three countries involved.

"It is a race about dreams," Rah said. "We know whatever decision today you make today will be an historic one."

2018 Winter Olympics Bid Announcement Set For 10 A.M.; Stream Available Online

The city that wins the 2018 Winter Olympics will be announced at 10:00 Eastern Wednesday morning, and the announcement will be streamed online here. The three competing cities are Munich, Germany; Annecy, France; and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The three cities gave presentations to the International Olympic Committee early Wednesday morning, and at 8:35 AM Eastern, the committee will vote on the winner.

Munich could be the winner in part because of the area's long association with winter sports and the support of Germany's federal government and Bavaria's. However, only 56 percent of Germany's population is in support of the bid.

Pyeongchang's bid could hinge on the possibility that a Winter Olympics in Korea could increase the popularity of winter sports throughout Asia. Also, all the potential venues are close to one another, which would make travel very convenient.

Annecy looks less likely than either of the other two, and it's unclear how well-equipped it is to handle an entire winter of Olympic games.

Stay with this StoryStream for the latest on the 2018 Winter Olympics selection. We'll be back with the results of the announcement at 10 a.m. EDT.

2018 Winter Olympics Announcement Schedule, Online Streaming Info

The International Olympic Committee will announce the winner of the 2018 Winter Olympics Wednesday morning in Durbin, South Africa. The final three locations competing for the bid are Munich, Germany; Annecy, Frace; and PyeongChang, South Korea. The winning city will be announced at 11 a.m. EST and will be streamed live online at the Olympic Commission's homepage.

The proceedings begin at 8:30 a.m. CET/2:30 a.m. EST with the IOC President's opening remarks and opening of the 123rd IOC Session. Immediately afterwards, the official presentations will commence.

Munich kicks things off with their bid's presentation from 2:45 a.m. to 3:55 a.m. in the Session Hall ICC. A thirty minute break will follow the end of the presentation.

Annecy's presentation will then begin at 4:25 a.m. and last until 5:35 a.m. in the Session Hall ICC. Another thirty minute break will follow France's presentation.

Finally, PyeongChang's presentation will be held from 6:05 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. in the Session Hall ICC. A two hour and twenty minute break will follow the last of the presentations.

At 9:35 a.m. the committee will reconvene to vote and elect the host city of the 2018 Winter Games. Following the 11 a.m. announcement of the winner, the traditional signing of the host city contract and joint IOC/host city media conference will be held at 12 p.m. in the ICC Briefing Room.

2018 Winter Olympics Selection To Be Made Wednesday

The International Olympic Committee will vote to decide the location of the 2018 Winter Olympics on Wednesday, July 6th. The selection bid has been narrowed down to three distinctive cities -- Munich, Germany; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Annecy, France.

The Munich pitch has centered around the slogan "Festival of Friendship." Should the southern German city win the bid, it would become the first location to host both the Summer and Winter Games, having hosted the infamous 1972 Munich Summer Olympics in which 11 Israeli competitors were murdered. An IOC conducted poll concluded that just 56 percent of the nation supported the bid, the lowest total of the three cities.

Pyeongchang has revolved its pitch around the slogan "New Horizons." The South Korean alpine city finished in second-place for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, narrowing losing out to both Canada and Russia. A recent IOC poll concluded that 87 percent of locals support the bid, by far the largest native backing of the three competing locations.

Unlike their two big city rivals, the small metropolis of Annecy has focused on the ideals of winter's quaint natural beauty contrasted with the stunning backdrop of the snowcapped French Alps. The French province is leading their pitch with the slogan "Snow, Ice, and You". The IOC's latest public poll indicated that 62 percent of the nation supported the bid.