Lee began the day by visiting Pyeongchang's new bobsleigh start tractice track in the Alpensia Resort, where he met the children participating in the 2011 Dream Program, a scheme promised during the Korean city's first unsuccessful bid to host the 2010 Winter Games which brings youngsters from countries who do not normally get the opportunity to try winter sport. 

He then greeted the IOC Evaluation Commission Members at an informal welcome reception, using the opportunity to reaffirm his dedicated support of the bid and his personal commitment to help bring the Winter Games to Korea for the first time in the country's history.

Lee told the Commission that holding the Games in Pyeongchang would help spread winter sports across the continent.

"It's the third bid," he said.

"We cannot save our face if we lose again.

"I think we need more efforts to bring the Olympics to South Korea."

Lee was joined at the informal welcome reception by senior members of the Pyeongchang 2018 Bid Committee, including chairman and chief executive Yang Ho Cho, as well as Korean IOC Members Kun Hee Lee, the head of Samsung, and Dae Sung Moon, Parliamentary members, Mayors of venue cities Pyeongchang and Gangneung, Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) President Yong Sung Park, representatives of Korean Winter Sports Federations, and Korean athletes including Vancouver 2010 speed skating gold medallists Tae-Bum Mo and Sang-Hwa Lee.



"We believe a Winter Games in Pyeongchang can offer the Olympic movement something unique and special - a new market for winter sports in Asia, home to 60 percent of the world's population," said Cho.

The omens are good for Pyeongchang, it would appear.

They are already the hot favourites ahead of rivals Annecy and Munich and over the weekend the area eceived a huge blanketing of snow, with more than 70 centimetres last Friday (Feburary 11) alone.

During the inspection visit thousands of local residents are expected to give the Commission a thunderous welcome wherever they travel.

The streets are already decked out with banners and posters declaring how much Pyeongchang wants the Games. 

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