The country's second largest city had formally announced its decision to bid for the 2020 Games at a summit of Asian and Pacific leaders in 2005, but changed its focus to 2024 after another South Korean city, Pyeongchang, was awarded the hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2011.

Pyeongchang, in the north of the country, had been bidding for a third consecutive time to host the event.

Officials close to the Busan bid feel that the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s decision to award Tokyo its second Games in 2020 last Saturday (September 7), following on from those of 1964, will make it less likely that another host city will be chosen in the Northeast Asian region so soon after, particularly as the 2008 Games were held in Beijing, China.

The Busan Stadium played host to a number of matches during the FIFA World Cup in 2002