Led by the chair of the IOC’s Coordination Commission Gunilla Lindberg, the delegation were briefed across two days of meetings on areas of Games preparations including venues, governance, workforce, marketing and technology and venue visits.

It comes some six months after the fourth Project Review, following which Lindberg stressed that timelines remained tight, particularly with the 2016 test events in mind.  

“We had a very good fifth Project Review visit to Pyeongchang,” said Lindberg.

“We could see that the Organising Committee, under chairman [Yang-ho] Cho’s leadership, is fully focused on its first test events, as it transitions from being a planning organisaton to one that must deliver operationally.

“We also visited the Bokwang and Jeongseon venues, where next year’s test events will be held, as well as the Alpensia Sliding Centre.

“The quality of the construction work at all three sports venues underlined Korea’s well-deserved reputation in this field.”

The Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG) explained during the meetings how its workforce is evolving, as it moves into its delivery phase, and also presented a number of its communications and engagement initiatives

It is claimed the IOC delegation was happy with the growth in staffing that POCOG is planning in order to deal with this new role.

“We had very productive meetings and I am pleased that since the last Coordination Commission visit in March, we have made good progress in preparing for Pyeongchang 2018,” said POCOG President and chief executive Yang-ho Cho.

“Now we are making utmost efforts and working closely with the International Federations to successfully deliver the first test events which are only six months away, making headway with sponsorships with new signings and cooperating with all stakeholders including IOC, Central Government and Gangwon Province to ensure a successful Winter Games.

"I appreciate the continued support of chair Lindberg and the International Olympic Committee, and will move ahead to reach operational readiness, as well as increase our communication with the local and international audience."

The IOC visit coincided with the signing of another top tier domestic partner for POCOG, which confirmed the interest and support for the Games by the Korean business community.

Chair Lindberg also met with Gangwon Governor Moon-soon Choi during her stay.

The Project Review meetings are technical visits to the host city and serve as interim updates between full Coordination Commission visits.

The next update to the IOC will be POCOG’s presentations to the IOC Executive Board and Session next week in Kuala Lumpur with the next Coordination Commission visit scheduled for September.



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