Durban (pps) Third time lucky – on its third try the South Korean city of Pyeongchang won the 2018 bid and was awarded the XXIII Olympic Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee, IOC, during its 123rd session in Durban, South Africa. In 2003 and 2007 respectively Pyeongchang failed with its bid efforts against Vancouver, Canada (2010) and Sochi, Russia (2014). Pyeongchang won an outright majority of 63 votes in a first round. Germany’s bid got 25 votes and Annecy (France) as the third candidate received seven votes. The first Olympic Winter Games in South Korea will take place on February 9-25, 2018. Extreme financial power, a compact Olympic concept featuring short distances and a still “unsaturated” winter sports market on the continent with the largest population – these were the trump cards that gave Pyeongchang the advantage in their bid for the 2018 Games. After the bitter defeats against Vancouver and Sochi Korea thus built their bid around the concept of “New Horizons”. Pyeongchang is a county in the Gangwon province and the third largest county in the country. It is located about 180 km east of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. However, Seoul will not be a venue of Olympic events. Further east on the coastline is Gangneung that will host the ice events. South Korea is planning the construction of a new track in the so-called „Alpensia Cluster“, that will also host the events in biathlon, ski jumping, Alpine and Nordic Skiing. In the presence of FIL President Josef Fendt a start track for the sport of luge was opened last winter. Seven of the altogether 13 venues have already been completed or have just to be modernised. Heart of the Olympic Winter Games is the “Alpensia” sports resort, which was built with an investment of 900 million Euros. The budget for the infrastructural development amounts to a total of US$ 6.3 billion. And another 500 million US dollars will be invested from 2012 to 2018 in the “drive the dream” programme. Pyeongchang 2018 - facts and figures Motto: “New Horizons” Date of the Games: February 9-25, 2018 Budget for the Games: 1.53 billion US dollars (according to the Bid Committee) Olympic Village: Villages in Pyeongchang and Gangneung Olympic venues: Pyeongchang / Alpensia Resort (Opening and Closing Ceremony, Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton); Jungbong (located about 45 km in the southeast; Alpine Skiing/downhill and super-G); Bokwang Phoenix Park (at about 45 km in the west; Ski freestyle, snowboard); Gangneung (40 km in the east; figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, short track) Paralympic Games: March 9-18, 2018