High levels of public support along with complete government backing and solid sponsorships continue to propel the South Korean bid from PyeongChang. The third-time bidder is hoping to finally cash in on efforts that have seen consecutive losses for 2010 and 2014 – and bid experience is a positive factor behind PyeongChang.
PyeongChang ticked up 2.59 points to 64.99 – a campaign high equalling the highest score the bid received in its 2014 efforts.
The South Korean bid is urging the IOC to visit “New Horizons”, and the geography is favourable – it will have been 20 years since the last Winter Games in Asia.
Munich’s plans are strong with a compact concept leveraged on the 1972 Munich Olympic Park; and this is reflected by an excellent BidIndex score and modest increase since the IOC Evaluation visit in March. The German city has strong government support as recognized by the IOC and enjoys strong sponsor support.
Munich is up 0.66 points to 62.31.
The main uncertainty in the bid’s campaign is a referendum scheduled for May 8 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen where landowners have expressed concerns about the environmental impact of a ski venue.
Bid organizers haven’t been clear on how a negative referendum result will impact their plans or what kind of contingency is in place. On Tuesday when asked about the importance of a positive referendum result, bid Chair Katarina Witt was dodgy in her response, instead insisting that she was confident of a favourable outcome
“I’m not going to get into those kinds of numbers”, Witt explained when asked what percentage of positive referendum votes would satisfy her.
Annecy had surged back into the race with the last release of BidIndex in January, but the bid has since stalled on reports of poor public support and questionable backing by the French government who may still have a Paris Games in its plans.
Annecy 2018 President Charles Beigbeder, however, had differing views.
“President Sarkozy and the Minister of Sport are extremely keen to help”, he said Wednesday, also suggesting that the French President may attend the final election presentation in Durban.
“We have the strong support from the French population”
Beigbeder said public support is growing regionally and a new poll will be released by the bid to back this up.
Annecy’s BidIndex score dropped 2.26 to 52.77.
The budget and low funding have been issues throughout Annecy’s campaign, and bid finance is a key fundamental in BidIndex – one that is keeping the French bid behind the others.
“We are still in the fundraising process because any additional funds will be a bonus,” Beigbeder said.
The BidIndex bid assessment model is a de facto industry standard and is based on technical bid plans, on-site evaluations, and a comprehensive statistical history of International Olympic Committee voting patterns. Because the IOC often does not elect the technically best bids – BidIndex determines which bid “best fits” the way International Olympic Committee members typically vote.
BidIndex has evaluated the past 5 Olympic bid races and has been extremely successful in separating the top contending bids from the cities that the IOC just isn’t interested in. In the most recent evaluation, BidIndex determined that Rio de Janeiro was most likely to host the 2016 Olympic Games among four candidates.
On Thursday, the three 2018 bidders are scheduled to make presentations to members of the IOC and International Sport Federations at the SportAccord conference. In May, they’ll present again in Lausanne.
BidIndex will continue to updated accordingly throughout the remainder of this crucial stage in the campaign. Recent bids have demonstrated that momentum towards the final election is key to a bid’s success
The final vote for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games host city will take place at the IOC session in Durban, South Africa on July 6.
Annecy: 52.77 (-2.26)
Munich: 62.31 (+0.66)
PyeongChang: 64.99 (+2.59)
More information and full BidIndex details can be found on the BidIndex results page; or send email to BidIndex(at)GamesBids.com or click on our “contact us” page for more information.
GamesBids.com – BidIndex Introduction – The Olympic Bid Rating System
