Pyeongchang look to deliver Winter Games for Asia'

Pyeongchang hope that at the third time of asking they will prevail here on Wednesday and win the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and deliver Asia only their third ever Games. The South Koreans have twice finished runners-up -- to Vancouver for 2010 and Sochi for 2014 -- and here they must wait once again to see if at last they have convinced the electorate of 100+ International Olympic Committee (IOC) members that they can host the Games. Victory would see Asia host the Games for the first time since 1998 in Nagano, the second time Japan had hosted them. In doing so they must see off the increasingly strong German candidate Munich, bidding to become the first venue to host both the Summer and Winter Games, and the French alpine town Annecy, apparently destined for third place. South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak has come to lend his support to the bid, like his late predecessor Roh Moo-Hyun did for the 2014 team, but insists he is not here to reap the rewards for himself. "I wouldn't make this about personal glory," said Lee, who is on a three-country whistlestop tour of Africa, starting with talks with South African president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday. "If we do win the bid it will be a great honour for the country. "America and Europe have benefited from winter sports, Asia hasn't had that opportunity. I consider this as my duty and mission to deliver this for Asia." For the IOC, the possibility of crossing a new frontier and opening up a lucrative new market in these financially precarious times is a very attractive option. It was certainly a strong factor in the laudatory report compiled by the IOC Evaluation Commission -- the only IOC members allowed to visit the bid candidates -- and something to which Lee alluded in an interview accorded to a few journalists on Monday. "This (Asia) is a region with the most robust and dynamic growth in terms of the economy, hence people will enjoy winter sports," said the 69-year-old. "It is our aspiration to become a Mecca for Asians to enjoy winter sports. "By hosting the Games we hope to spread the spirit of the Olympics beyond Pyeongchang, throughout Asia." However, the Koreans will be casting nervous glances at the IOC members, with Munich poised to pounce if Pyeongchang cannot secure a first-round victory. The Germans' increasingly impressive campaign has given them hope they will emulate the Black Sea resort of Sochi, by developing from a long shot into one with unstoppable momentum. Olympic ice skating icon Katarina Witt may be the impressive front person for the bid, but their hopes were best encapsulated by the blind German paralympic legend, 12-time gold medallist Verena Bentele. "The Munich bid is just like competing in another competition," she told AFP. "You can train and we have trained a lot and under very, very good conditions, but you also need a bit of luck along the way. "Munich hosting the Games would be a dream." Annecy have tried their best under increasingly difficult conditions, not helped by an unfriendly press nor a change of president for the bid just months away from the decision. However, Charles Beigbeder, who accepted the role in January after former Olympic champion Edgar Grospiron stepped down over budgetary disagreements, has added much needed energy and sharpness to the bid. Indeed, here the 46-year-old entrepreneur has refreshingly thrown off the gloves and taken no prisoners -- treading close to the line that forbids rivals from talking about each other. "We have a vision that serves the entire world, not one country and one continent," Beigbeder told AFP. "We are not here for France, we are here for Olympism. Of course there would be a legacy for France, but also there would be a world legacy. "Our vision is in line with what the Olympic movement would like to have now. We are here to put on an authentic Games. We are not there to get a trophy for a company or a country. "We want to keep the Games at the top. Inspire the world."