Discussions to move the sliding sports venue in Pyeongchang outside of South Korea to Japan, or even farther afield to Europe, in a bid to reduce the costs of constructing a new venue, had been ongoing in the host city following the International Olympic Committee (IOC) passing the Agenda 2020 recommendations put forward by President Thomas Bach.

One of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations passed in Monte Carlo on Monday (December 8), allowed "the organisation of entire sports and disciplines outside the host city or, in exceptional cases, outside the host country notably for reasons of geography and sustainability".

Despite the changes, Pyeongchang 2018 President Cho Yang Ho claims that the move would be "too difficult to apply" due to construction work already ongoing on each of the Games venues.

"The recently approved 'Olympic Agenda 2020' offer an effective and progressive opportunity for the future of the Olympic Movement, and we highly appreciate the International Olympic Committee's drive to implement changes," Cho said.

The Pyeongchang 2018 Sliding Centre will remain in South Korea despite discussions to move it to Japan on Europe ©Pyeongchang 2018


But, with regards to its application to the 2018 Winter Games, he added: "It will be difficult to apply those recommendations to our plans at this stage, given that construction for all competition venues is already in progress.

"We will study the options once we receive more detailed information from the IOC, but for now it is our wish to have all events staged in Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Jeongseon as per our original bid plan accepted by the IOC."

Reports last week claimed moving the Sliding Centre aborad could save Pyeongchang 2018 around $120 million (£77 million/€97 million) in construction costs.

The IOC was allegedly keen on the idea of moving the sliding sports venue, however, there were strong criticisms of the move within South Korea with the Korean Olympic Committee and Pyeongchang 2018 outlining their determination to avoid relinquishing hosting rights.

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