Asian Olympic double to unlock continent’s potential
Future is bright with winter and summer Olympics in the region in 2018 and 2020
Asia's success in landing the Olympic double with the 2020 summer Games in Tokyo and South Korea's Pyeongchang hosting the 2018 winter Olympics will unlock the continent's potential, Pyeongchang's Games chief said on yesterday.
The South Korean mountain resort, which was awarded the Games in 2011, will become the first Asian city outside Japan to host the winter Games.
What the Olympics pursue is the worldwide expansion of sports so in this sense Tokyo 2020 and Pyeongchang 2018, only two years apart in Asia, provides us a great opportunity to awaken Asia's great potential
"Asia is a huge continent with a huge population. It has a great potential in many areas," Pyeongchang Games president Kim Jin-sun said in an interview.
"What the Olympics pursue is the worldwide expansion of sports so in this sense Tokyo 2020 and Pyeongchang 2018, only two years apart in Asia, provides us a great opportunity to awaken Asia's great potential." He said this would bring "further development of related industries."
In addition to staging the 2020 Olympics, Japan has also been picked to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup after unsuccessfully bidding for the 2011 tournament.
South Korea in turn will hold the world swimming championships for the first time in 2019 and the Presidents Cup golf tournament in 2015.