Cities in close race to be host of 2018 Olympics

DURBAN, South Africa --- In a frantic final day of campaigning, the three cities vying for the 2018 Winter Olympics lobbied for votes Tuesday in what shapes up as a choice between the third-time Asian bid from South Korea and the European challenger from Germany.

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The International Olympic Committee will vote by secret ballot today, choosing from among the Korean resort of Pyeongchang, the Bavarian capital of Munich and the French lakeside town of Annecy.

Pyeongchang, bidding for a third successive time after close defeats for the 2010 and 2014 Games, remains the city to beat. Munich, hoping to become the first city to play host to both a Summer and Winter Olympics, is pushing hard. Annecy is the outsider.

"I think it's very close," Australian IOC member John Coates told The Associated Press. "There are strong arguments for each of the cities. Two of them have stronger arguments than the third."

For the IOC, the decision comes down to this: Is it time to reward Pyeongchang's persistence and send the Winter Olympics to a new territory in Asia? Or is it time to reconnect with the Winter Games' European roots and go back to Germany for the first time in 80 years?

The IOC's trend in recent votes has been to move the games to new frontiers, taking the Winter Games to Russia (Sochi) for the first time in 2014 and giving South America its first Olympics with the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Winter Games have been staged twice in Asia, both times in Japan -- Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

Pyeongchang, whose slogan is "New Frontiers," says it can spread the Olympics to a lucrative new market in Asia and become a hub for winter sports in the region.

"After the last two Olympic bids we learned and listened to the IOC family and the members," Pyeongchang bid leader Cho Yang-ho said.

"The difference with this bid is seven out of the 13 venues are complete, which means we are not just showing people the drawing board. We are showing them physical venues."

The persistence of the South Koreans in bidding three times over a 10-year period could be crucial.

"History's shown you do get rewarded," Coates said, noting that Australia bid three times before Sydney got the 2000 Olympics and London landed the 2012 Games after several failed British attempts.

Munich counters that the games need to go back to their spiritual home in Europe and to a country with a history and tradition of winter sports and big crowds.