PYONGYANG, North Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement on Wednesday that the countries planned to jointly bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
At a major summit, the two leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the games, or how advanced the plans were. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) traditionally does not announce host cities until seven years ahead of the games. That would give the Koreas until 2025 to put together a joint bid.
Germany has already announced plans for a multicity bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games.
A successful bid by the Koreas would mark the second time South Korea hosted or cohosted the Summer Games, the first being 1988 in Seoul. South Korea also hosted the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February. Asia also features in the next two Olympics—the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, which also hosted the summer version in 2008.
The joint statement on Wednesday also said the Koreas would look to cooperate in major sports events, such as the 2020 Games, also without elaborating.
ALLIANZ AS WORLDWIDE SPONSOR
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) said insurance company Allianz signed as a worldwide sponsor from 2021 through the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.The value of the deal, which includes becoming a partner of the Paralympics, was not given.
The International Olympic Committee has 13 worldwide sponsors for a four-year commercial cycle leading to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Top-tier sponsors were worth $1 billion to the IOC for the cycle tied to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The IOC says Allianz will support Olympic Games organizers with insurance for transport and property, and “future products and services, driven by technological changes.”
The Germany-based insurer holds naming rights to home stadiums of Bayern Munich and Juventus, plus venues in Sydney; Nice, France; São Paulo; and Saint Paul, Minnesota.
SAPPORO BACKS OUT FOR 2026 GAMES
THE Japanese city of Sapporo has dropped its bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics following a recent earthquake.
After meeting with Sapporo representatives, the IOC said on Monday the city, which became the first in Asia to host the Winter Olympics in 1972, will now focus on a bid for the 2030 Games.
Japanese officials have said 41 people were killed when an earthquake hit Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, where Sapporo is located, on September 6. Even before the earthquake, Sapporo officials had said they might prefer to focus on 2030.
The IOC said in a statement it “expressed its understanding that recovery from the earthquake in the region should be the immediate principal focus but greatly appreciated the continued strong commitment as a future host for the Olympic Winter Games.”
Four bids remain in contention for 2026: Stockholm, Sweden; Calgary, Canada; a three-way Italian bid from Turin, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo; and Erzurum, Turkey.
Sapporo’s exit means there is no chance of having three consecutive Winter Olympics in East Asia after this year’s games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the upcoming 2022 event in Beijing.
With four remaining bids for 2026, the race so far remains in healthier shape for the IOC than the 2022 bidding, which came down to only Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, both of which faced criticism for their governments’ human-rights records and a perceived lack of winter sports tradition.
However, each of the remaining bids faces its own challenges.
Government support for Stockholm’s bid appears less certain after recent elections in which the governing party lost ground, while there has been infighting between the three Italian cities despite their nominal alliance.
Calgary’s bid faces a nonbinding referendum on November 13—Olympic bids elsewhere have often struggled to win over voters. Erzurum’s key problem is Turkey’s status as a winter sports outsider, which has never won an Olympic medal on snow or ice.
Image credits: AP