Forty-eight years later, Seoul wants to bring the Olympics back to South Korea. Seoul decided to bid for the 2036 event, not seeking to co-host with the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, for obvious political reasons.
“I think the 2032 strategy was doomed to failure due to unpredictable inter-Korean relations“, said the mayor of the South Korean capital, Se-hoon in an interview.
Amid hopes of better relations with the nuclear-armed North, Seoul sent a proposal to co-host the 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2021, before Brisbane took over.
The 2032 joint proposal was intended to build on the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, during which athletes from both Koreas marched under a single flag at the opening ceremony and participated in women’s ice hockey in a uniform team consisting of athletes from both countries.
IOC President Thomas Bach hailed the joint candidacy at the time as a “historic initiative”.
However, since then, relations between the two countries have soured again, and North Korea has exceeded all precedent in ballistic missile tests in the past year.
Pyongyang frequently trades threats with Seoul and its allies in Washington, where officials say North Korea may be preparing to resume nuclear weapons tests for the first time since 2017.
Se-hoon said Seoul would remain flexible on the idea of ​​holding some events in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) or in Pyongyang if relations improve enough by then.
An official at the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee (KSOC) said it had not received official declarations of intent from either Seoul or the southern city of Busan for a 2036 bid.
It will be up to individual cities in consultation with the national government to decide whether to co-host with Pyongyang, the official added.
Among the potential contenders for the Olympics is Qatar, which is expected to bid to host the event after successfully hosting last year’s soccer World Cup, while India, Germany and Egypt are also reportedly considering submitting a bid.
It is recalled that Mexico has already submitted an official proposal to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
Source: RES-MPE
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