2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics: South Korea Builds Eco-Friendly Venues, Officials Call for Public Support, Participation

by YuGee / Sep 26, 2016 06:47 AM EDT

Pyeongchang gears up for 2018 Winter Games. (Photo by Chung Sung Jun/Getty Images)

In an article, Yonhap News stated that South Korea is on its way to completing the construction of the first ever Winter Olympics that will be held in South Korea. The organizers of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics also aim for an environmentally friendly event.

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games is just 500 days and the host city, Pyeongchang, together with Gangneung and Jeongseon, are working up their preparations to receive athletes and visitors from around the globe.

Twelve venues will be allotted for the event. There would be seven venues for sports on snow and five for events on ice. Currently, six venues are being constructed and the remaining six venues will be renovated for the said event.

The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) stated that five of the new facilities are almost 88 percent complete as of Friday, while the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon is about 73 percent complete. The organizers also mentioned that the major facilities venues will be completed by the end of 2016.

The venues will be inspected from November 2016 to April 2017 as 21 events will be held during the said period.

Furthermore, the construction of non-sports venues is also ongoing. The venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, the Olympic Plaza, is approximately 20 percent complete and is estimated to be finished by September 2017.

The President of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG), Lee Hee Beom, said that the preparations are going smoothly and he also calls for more public support and participation.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, he stated, "There isn't much time left, and we have to use it efficiently. After the end of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics (in August), the eyes of the sporting world are now on PyeongChang."

He also added, "An Olympics represents a complete entertainment package. We want to host an economic, cultural, and environmental Olympics that also promotes peace. And to make it happen, everything from catering, tourism, transportation, and accommodations have to come together. We have to strive to be perfect in every aspect."