Did the South Koreans do the hard part? Long singled out for the slowness of their Olympic work, then criticized for the sluggishness of their marketing campaign, they finally received some good points this week, on the occasion of the sixth visit to PyeongChang and its surroundings of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2018 Winter Games. A winter visit, organized in a winter sports setting. The first where the delegation of experts and members of the Olympic organization showed more smiles than grins.
Proof of this tendency towards optimism, the final press conference of these three days of visit, held this Wednesday March 16. In the center of the stand, Gunilla Lindberg, president of the IOC Coordination Commission. Very listened to, obviously. Not exactly known for willingly giving into triumphalism. At his side, the president of the PyeongChang 2018 organizing committee, Yang-ho Cho. A bigwig in the South Korean economy, also president of Korean Air.
According to the IOC press release, Gunilla Lindberg declared herself “satisfied with the progress made in the construction of the competition venues”. She even “congratulated” the Games organizers for the success of holding the first test events. Yang-ho Cho liked it. The compliment is not common at this stage of preparation for the Games.
A simple posture? Not really. Faced with the test of facts, the PyeongChang 2018 team rose to the occasion. The first series of test events organized since last month on the Olympic sites included the Alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle skiing World Cups. Not really the easiest to put to music, especially the men's descent, always closely observed and rarely free from criticism from the skiers. But the result did not disappoint anyone. The IOC noted the “praise from athletes and positive feedback from technical experts.”
The rest promises to be copious. The PyeongChang 2018 team will have to endure 24 other test events without trembling during the next winter sports season, including an ISU Short Track World Cup, scheduled for December 2016 in the new Ice Arena in Gangneung. No question of releasing the pressure. Gunilla Lindberg hammered home this Wednesday: “There is still much to do, but PyeongChang 2018 is on track to deliver a fantastic edition of the Winter Olympics to the Republic of Korea and the world. We are delighted with what we saw and heard during our visit. »
Again, Yang-ho Cho politely appreciated, “These few days of meetings with the Coordination Commission have been very productive for all of us, allowing us to receive constructive comments and advice. As we enter the operational phase of the Games, a decisive phase, I would like to thank the IOC and the International Federations for their constant guidance and support. The strong partnership we have established is crucial to ensuring our success. » Everything is fine, then. Entente Cordiale.
One does not go without the other in the Olympic world, the satisfaction of the IOC experts is accompanied by a solid boost in the marketing program for the next Winter Games. It has now achieved 70% of the organizing committee’s objectives. Before packing her trunks and returning to Europe, Gunilla Lindberg participated in the ceremony organized for the signing of a new partnership contract. It concerns the Lotte chain of stores, embarked on the adventure in the sector of department stores and duty-free shops.
According to the Seoul press, the contract would reach 60 billion won, or around 45 million euros. In particular, it provides for the marketing in the group's stores of all official Games products and a special line of Olympic products. A boon for PyeongChang 2018. Lotte thus establishes itself as the most generous national sponsor of the Winter Games in 2018. A commitment behind which can be seen the silhouette of the president of the Lotte group, Shin Dong-bin, former professional skier and current president of the South Korean Ski Federation.
