IOC Release Evaluation Report on ’18 Winter Games Candidates

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today, May 10, released the Evaluation Commission’s report on the bidding cities for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018, following visits to the three Candidate bidding to host the Games: Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang.

The Evaluation Commission spent four days in each city earlier in the year to conduct on-site inspections and carry out an assessment of the cities’  2018 Olympic Winter Games projects.

The report is a technical analysis which is being provided to IOC members prior to the “2018 Briefing for IOC Members” which will be held on May 18 and 19 in Lausanne, Switzerland. During this meeting the Candidate Cities will have the opportunity to present the technical aspects of their candidatures to the IOC members and answer questions.

The report comprises of evaluations of each city, at length, covering aspects of respective bids including: Vision, Concept and Legacy; Sport and Competition Venues; Olympic Villages; Paralympic Games; Accommodation; Transport; Media Operations; Environment and Meteorology; Safety and Security; Medical Services and Doping Control; Legal Aspects, Games Governance and Delivery; Political Structure, Government and Public Support; Marketing; Finance.

While the French city of Annecy are seen as outsiders, despite the efforts of new bid chief Charles Biegbeder, the contest is thought to be very tight between the candidates, with PyeongChang tipped as favourites in a recent report. Since then, the bid of Munich received a huge boost after passing a referendum when residents of the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen rejected petitions to halt the city’s bid to stage the Games.

The election of the host city of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games will take place on July 6 during the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. Prior to the IOC members casting their votes, the Candidate Cities will make their final presentations, followed by a final report by Evaluation Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, IOC member for Sweden. The city that obtains an absolute majority of votes will be elected.