The Games will see six new venues built across Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Jeongseon in order to facilitate the seven Olympic and five Paralympic sports set to take place.

The Coordination Commission was today given the opportunity to visit the majority of these facilities as Pyeongchnag 2018 organisers outlined the location, size, construction time and legacy of each venue.

"There have been very good presentations of all the venues," Lindberg said on the conclusion of the venue tour.

"It's not ready yet but I have full confidence in how they're going to build it up and time wise also its incredibly good timing for the test events.

"We're really happy."

As well as the new sporting facilities, the Commission also visited the site of the two Olympic Villages being built to accommodate athletes throughout the Winter Games.

One site is set to be constructed at the Mountain Cluster, an area which will host the four snow sports, while the other will be located in the Coastal Cluster, home to the three ice sports.

"We're especially happy with the Mountain Village because we've been struggling a bit there but now they presented a new concept and it's good," added Lindberg.

"The first proposal was not really good and then we had some problems but then they found this place and a constructor and we are very happy with it.

"That was the first time we saw that.

"I think they have a good planning and a good team.

"They need some expertise of course from the International Federations (IF) but it's good preparations and it's good that we have the IFs with us here at this visit."

The IOC Coordination Commission, led by chair Gunilla Lindberg, visited venues including the Sliding Centre, Olympic Villages and Gangneung Sports Complex during their Pyeongchang venue tour today ©Pyeongchang 2018



Construction on two of the snow sport venues, the 12,000-capacity Alpine skiing venue in Jungbong and the 11,000-capacity Sliding Centre at the Alpensia Resort, began on Monday (April 28) and December 31 respectively.

The Ice Hockey 1 and Ice Hockey 2 venues, being used for competition and training, as well as the figure skating/short track stadium and speed skating venue are expected to begin construction in late May.

These three venues, excluding Ice Hockey 2, will, alongside the existing Curling Centre, constitute the Gangneung Sports Complex, a 649,000 square metre area that will host the short track speed skating, speed skating, ice hockey, ice sledge hockey, curling, wheelchair curling and figure skating events.

All venues are scheduled to be completed by October 2016 with test events set to take place across the following year, although the Alpine skiing course is set to host the International Skiing Federation Men's World Cup in February 2016, and so construction of the course is scheduled to finish by October 2015.

As for the Olympic Villages, the Coastal Village will get construction underway the earliest with March 2015 the expected start date, while the Mountain Village will begin a few months later in June 2015.

Both these sites are expected to be finished by September 2017.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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