Salzburg, Sochi, Pyeongchang make cut for 2014 Winter Games

Salzburg, Sochi, Pyeongchang make cut for 2014 Winter Games{mosimage}LAUSANNE, Switzerland — One Asian and two European cities made the cut Thursday as the IOC trimmed the field for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Salzburg, Austria; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Sochi, Russia, were selected as finalists by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board.
Eliminated from the race were Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria.

While this cut was made by the Olympics’ 15-member ruling body, the full 100-plus IOC assembly will select the host city at its session in Guatemala City on July 4, 2007.

The main question had been whether the IOC would go for three or four finalists. Almaty had been considered the likely choice as a fourth bidder.

“It was not a question of quantity, it was a question of quality,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said.

IOC executive Gerhard Heiberg of Norway said the board had “lengthy discussions” about whether to include a fourth finalist.

“It was a very good debate, but in the end we decided to go for three,” he said. “Three of them are totally qualified in every respect. We know we are safe. All three will be very good organizers.”

The board based its decision in part on a written report compiled by IOC experts evaluating 11 different criteria, including sports venues, security, financing and government support. Salzburg came out on top in the overall ratings with a score between 8 and 9 out of 10. Pyeongchang was second with a figure straddling 7-8, with Sochi next at 6-7. Almaty was fourth at 5-6, followed by Jaca 4-5, Sofia 3-4 and Borjomi 2-3.

Salzburg bid leader Fedor Radmann sought to downplay the Austrian city’s front-runner status.

“We are not the favorite,” he said. “We don’t like this feeling. We won’t talk about the others.”

Salzburg and Pyeongchang were finalists in the vote for the 2010 Olympics, which were awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia. The little-known Korean bid finished a surprising second, and the Austrian city third.

Salzburg, which represents the traditional European Alpine winter setting, has come forward with a leaner, more compact bid.

“Last time we put too much weight on culture and Mozart,” Radmann said, referring to promotional efforts emphasizing the city’s fame as the birthplace of the composer. ‘This time, we are putting sports and athletes at the heart of the bid.”

Pyeongchang, in Korea’s Gangwon Province, is hoping to build on its momentum from the first bid to establish itself as an Asian winter sports capital.

“Pyeongchang is unique in that we are located in Asia and we will be able to expand the Olympic movement in our part of the world better than the other two cities,” bid chairman Han Seung-hoo said.

Sochi is trying to bring the Winter Games to Russia for the first time. The Russian government has thrown its full weight behind the bid, including a $12 billion investment package, in sharp contrast to the lukewarm support it offered Moscow’s failed 2012 attempt.

“Holding the Games in Sochi will inject tremendous energy and accelerate the modernization of the country,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said. “Nationwide support is already extensive, but we hope to encourage each and every Russian to unite behind our bid.”

The cities making the cut have to pay a $500,000 fee to cover the bidding process, and will be required to submit their formal bid books by January 2007.

This race pales in the glamour stakes from the vote last year for the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which London defeated Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow. By comparison, many people might find it hard to locate the 2014 bid cities on a world map.

Jaca, nestled in the Pyrenees, was bidding for a fourth time and had combined its efforts with Zaragoza.

Almaty, which made a preliminary run for the 2002 Games, was back with a bid led by former cross-country ski champion Vladimir Smirnov.

Sofia, making its third bid, was the only capital city in the group but had already indicated it could settle for another shot in 2018.

Borjomi was the longest shot of the applicants.

— The Associated Press