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 International Olympic Committee President Bach, who will travel to
Beijing on Thursday for the world athletics championships, will be
accompanied by Gunilla Lindberg, the head of the IOC's Coordination
Committee for the Pyeongchang Games.
"Bach will arrive in South Korea on the morning of Aug. 19 and meet
with Cho Yang-ho, the president of Pyeongchang Organising Committee,
and participate in a welcome luncheon," POCOG said in a statement.
Tier-1 sponsors of the Games would also be at the luncheon, the
statement added.
After a slow start, preparations for Asia's first Winter Olympics to
be staged outside Japan are now in full flow.
In July, Lindberg praised the quality of construction work at venues
and said organizers were now focused on delivering next year's test
events.
The coastal city of Gangneung will be used for the figure skating,
curling, ice hockey, speed and short-track skating events, while the
alpine town of Pyeongchang will stage mountain events such as
skiing, sliding and Nordic events.
Concerns about costs and construction delays had raised speculation
earlier this year that some of the events might have to be moved
away from Pyeongchang, perhaps even to Japan.
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But construction is in full swing and major South Korean companies
such as Samsung, Korean Air and LG have agreed to pour in funds to
support the Games.
South Korea's two biggest automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and its
affiliate Kia Motors Corp, have also signed on as sponsors,
providing vehicles and pumping in cash to help with the running of
the multi-sports event.
(Writing by Peter Rutherford; Reporting by Oh Seung-yun, Editing by
Sudipto Ganguly)
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