Seoul City Submits Joint Bid Proposal for '2032 Seoul-Pyeongyang Olympic and Paralympic Games'

Set Olympic Vision as 'Beyond the Line, Toward the Future' and Introduce Concepts for Five Key Areas
Explain Realization of World Peace through Sports, Aspiration for Peace on the Korean Peninsula, and Positive Ripple Effects of the Games

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has prepared a bid proposal containing the vision and concept for the joint hosting of the 2032 Olympics in Seoul and Pyongyang and submitted it to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Future Host Commission on the 1st.

Since the joint declaration on “Cooperation for the Joint Hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympics by South and North Korea” announced by the South and North Korean leaders on September 19, 2018, Seoul has been selected as the domestic host city candidate for the 2032 Olympics and has been in continuous dialogue with the IOC since January 2020.

Although the IOC unexpectedly selected Brisbane, Australia, as the preferred host city for the 2032 Olympics on February 25, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Government immediately expressed regret and proceeded with consultations with the IOC, leading to the submission of this 2032 Seoul-Pyongyang Olympic bid proposal.

Previously, related organizations including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, along with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, have been conducting regular working-level consultations at ministerial, vice-ministerial, and director-general levels to prepare the conditions for implementing the agreement on the joint hosting of the 2032 Olympics by South and North Korea announced by the leaders. Additionally, IOC President Thomas Bach and the Future Host Commission requested that continuous dialogue be maintained with other competing cities, as the designation of a preferred host city does not represent the final decision on the 2032 Olympic host city.

Seoul set the vision for the 2032 Seoul-Pyongyang Olympics as “Beyond the Line, Toward the Future” and introduced concepts in five key areas through the bid proposal.

The five key concepts are: an Olympics that reduces costs and minimizes environmental destruction and risks; an Olympics jointly hosted by Seoul and Pyongyang that everyone participates in; an Olympics where South and North Korea connect, East and West harmonize, and peace is achieved; an Olympics enjoyed worldwide through advanced technology and K-Culture; and an Olympics that respects solidarity, inclusion, and athlete rights.

Seoul especially aimed to convey to the IOC the justification and necessity of hosting the 2032 Seoul-Pyongyang Olympics by explaining that the event can realize the IOC’s vision of world peace through sports and fulfill the long-standing aspiration of the Government of the Republic of Korea for peace and harmony on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the various positive ripple effects the event would bring.

This bid proposal will be further detailed and developed through ongoing consultations with the IOC Future Host Commission. Acting Mayor of Seoul, Seo Jeong-hyeop, stated, “The 2032 Seoul-Pyongyang Olympics can be a national event that marks a turning point for peace on the Korean Peninsula and ethnic harmony. Therefore, together with the central government, we will do our utmost to host the Games with the attitude that it is not over until it is truly over.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.