Despite missing the original March 1 deadline to formally register an interest in hosting the fifth edition of the Championships, the ISAF has confirmed to insidethegames that Busan's late bid has been ratified following a meeting of the ISAF 2018 World Championships Evaluation Panel in Southampton yesterday.

Busan will now join Aarhus in Denmark, The Hague in the Netherlands and Gdynia in Poland as the four candidates in the running to stage the Championships in four years' time.

"[The] ISAF has received and accepted four bids from cities applying to host the 2018 ISAF Sailing World Championship," a spokesperson from the governing body told insidethegames.

"The bid from Busan was received by ISAF after the March 1 deadline.

"The Evaluation Commission is satisfied that Busan has received no material advantage as a result and has accepted the bid.

"In accordance with the Bid Guidelines, ISAF has the right to make amends to the timetable and process at its discretion.

"All of the candidate cities have been advised on this decision."

Busan, which is situated on the south eastern coast of South Korea, played host to the ISAF Women's Match World Championships in June last year.

The 2018 Sailing World Championships will be the fifth edition of the event ©AFP/Getty Images



The other three candidates had all bid to stage this year's Sailing World Championships but lost out to the Spanish city Santander, which was awarded hosting rights by the ISAF three years ago.

Should Busan win the race, it will be the first time the Championships will have been staged in Asia.

The next stage of the process will see all four candidates formally present their bids to the ISAF Evaluation Commission in Southampton on March 25 and 26.

The Commission will then prepare its report and recommend the 2018 host city to the ISAF Executive Committee at its mid-year meeting on May 10, when the Committee will either accept the recommendation or ask the Panel to review its decision.

The ISAF World Championships were launched in 2003 when Cadiz in Spain staged the inaugural event, which was followed by Iberian neighbour Cascais, Portugal in 2007.

The 2011 edition was held in Perth, Australia and this year's event is expected to attract more than 1,400 sailors from over 80 countries to the north coast of Spain.

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