North Jeolla Province chosen as S. Korean candidate in bid for 2036 Summer Olympics
North Jeolla Province on Friday was picked as the South Korean candidate in the bidding race for the 2036 Summer Olympics, Yonhap reports.
The province, located in the southwestern part of the country, defeated Seoul 49-11 in a vote by representatives from the national governing bodies of Summer and Winter Olympic sports. There was one invalid vote.
North Jeolla and Seoul each gave a 45-minute presentation before the evaluation committee of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. Then the voters -- officials from national sports federations -- cast their ballots. North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon each made an appearance in their respective presentations.
With Seoul having hosted the 1988 Summer Games, South Korea will try to become the seventh country -- joining the United States, France, Britain, Australia, Japan and Greece -- to stage multiple Summer Olympics. The country held the Winter Olympics in 2018 in the eastern province of Gangwon, with PyeongChang holding snow and sliding events and Gangwon hosting ice events.
For the 2036 Summer Olympics, Indonesia, Turkey, India and Chile are also in the running, with potential bids from countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Italy, Denmark and Canada.
North Jeolla Province intends to share events with its neighbors, including the metropolitan cities of Daegu (athletics) and Gwangju (archery and swimming), and the North Chungcheong provincial town of Hongseong (tennis).
North Jeolla claimed its model would align with the International Olympic Committee's push for cost efficiency and would also ensure more balanced regional development in South Korea.
