The Seoul Metropolitan Government's vision for the proposed co-hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympics by Seoul and Pyeongyang is "Beyond the Line, Toward the Future." A "sympathy conference" for the proposed 2032 Seoul-Pyeongyang Summer Olympics on Nov. 4, 2020, is held at Banyan Tree Hotel in Seoul's Jung-gu District. (National Unification Advisory Council)
By Elias Molina and Yoon Hee Young
The Seoul Metropolitan Government on April 1 submitted its bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with North Korea's capital of Pyeongyang to the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad under the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The city government said the IOC on Feb. 25 named Brisbane, Australia, its "preferred partner" to negotiate for the hosting rights, adding, "Our (central) government and the city immediately expressed regret, held consultations with the IOC and submitted the Seoul-Pyeongyang Olympic bidding proposal."
The designation of a preferred host by IOC President Thomas Bach and the commission is not the final decision on the event's venue, the city said, so Seoul City Hall requested that the IOC continue consultations with other bidding cities.
The city said "Beyond the Line, Toward the Future" is the vision for the co-hosting bid and introduced five major concepts in the bidding proposal.
The concepts are reducing costs and minimizing environmental damage and risks; holding a truly inclusive Olympics through co-hosting by Seoul and Pyeongyang; achieving peace by connecting the two Koreas and harmonizing East and West; entertaining the world with state-of-the-art technology and Korean culture; and respecting solidarity, tolerance and the athletes' human rights.
Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jung-hyup said the city and the central government will do all they can for the bid until the end, as a 2032 Seoul-Pyeongyang Olympics could be a national event that creates a watershed for peace on the peninsula and national harmony.
In the inter-Korean summit of September 2018, the leaders of both Koreas agreed to cooperate for the co-hosting bid under the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.
eliasmolina@korea.kr
