This was not a surprise: this is the third-consecutive time that the South Korean city has sought to win the Winter Olympics – and it fell not far short in the previous two.

What, frankly, was a surprise was that the Koreans had the best joke of the morning: this came when YS Park, the avuncular President of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) apologised to the newly-married Prince Albert of Monaco, an IOC member, for having to spend his honeymoon watching Pyeongchang's presentation - for a third time.

"It was even better the third time. Don't worry," the loquacious Prince, traditionally the most persistent questioner of anyone in the IOC, replied.

Among other strong-points highlighted in a dignified if, at times, emotional presentation were the potential for a Pyeongchang Games to spread winter sports to new regions and its relative compactness.

Kim Yu-Na, the country's ice-skating gold medallist from Vancouver, struck just the right tone when she remarked how humbling it was for someone of her age - she is 20 - to take part in such an event, while also thanking IOC members for "providing the opportunity for someone like me to achieve my dreams".

But she also brought a more hard-edged message: "Many Korean athletes travel halfway around the world just to train".

The country's leader, Lee Myung-Bak, the South Korean President, has immersed himself fully in the bid, arriving in Durban last Saturday (July 2), before most IOC members.


Here he further demonstrated his dedication to the cause by delivering a lengthy intervention almost entirely in English.

This focused on the history of Korea's involvement with the Winter Games.

When it first took part in 1948, he said: "We were one of the world's poorest countries...We didn't even have a Government."

He concluded: "I appreciate more than anyone what the IOC and the Olympic Movement has given to the Korean nation."

This insistence on a meaningful commitment to a bid from the national leader has become a hallmark of campaigns worked on by Mike Lee, the communications guru, who helped Rio de Janeiro to land the 2016 Summer Games with very considerable contributions from then Brazilian President Lula.

Today's Pyeongchang presentation was shot through with trademark Lee touches, from the use of flags in background images to catch the eye of targeted voters, to the inclusion of a very personal athlete's story – in this case that of Korean-American Toby Dawson – to tug the heartstrings, to the use of a map showing how the Winter Olympics has been a virtual monopoly for established winter sports markets over the years.

Perhaps the only off-note was a rather unappetising shot of a pizza, used as part of a passage aimed at addressing one of the bid's weak-points: the low international profile of Pyeongchang.

This was a front-runner's presentation in that it too few risks; it was a little preachy for some tastes.

But the Korean delegation can feel satisfied, in spite of the odd technical glitch, in having pressed all the right buttons.

We will soon know if it is a case of third time lucky in Durban.

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