19 September 2024 - If the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 put the county of PyeongChang on the world map, the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024 helped to keep it there, while accelerating its progress towards being a global hub for winter sports. In this series of articles to mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of the region’s project to host the YOG, Olympics.com hears from key figures involved in ensuring the long-term benefits for PyeongChang and the Republic of Korea.
Hosting the Winter YOG enabled PyeongChang to extend the legacies created by the Olympic Winter Games, as well as allowing the region to propose a more sustainable masterplan for the youth edition, making use of 100 per cent existing sports and transport infrastructure and offering the young athletes the opportunity to compete in state-of-the-art, world-class venues.
As a climate-reliable setting for winter sports competitions until at least the middle to the end of the century due to its cold average temperatures in winter and average snowfall, and to further the legacies of the venues, the county will continue to host world-class winter sports events, such as International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and International Luge Federation (FIL) World Cups, and bid for bigger ones, such as the IBSF World Championships and youth and summer events. It will also continue to host training camps for elite athletes in winter and summer sports, as well as introductory youth sports camps for children from the Republic of Korea and from non-traditional winter sports countries.
Following the successful hosting of PyeongChang 2018 and Gangwon 2024, and with stronger links to the World Union of Olympic Cities, the county has ambitions to establish itself as a renowned destination for tourism, culture and international conferences.
Hosting big competitions has a crucial role in shaping our sports future
Advice for potential future (Youth) Olympic Games hosts
Gangwon 2024 provided a platform for the next generation of athletes to learn and grow
