2018 Winter Olympics Announcement: Why Pyeongchang Will Be a Great Host City

After two previous bids to host the Olympic Games, South Korea's Pyeongchang was selected to be the host city of the 2018 Olympic Games.

The 2018 games will be the first ever to be held in South Korea, and comes on the heels of two crushing defeats in 2010 and 2014. 

However, losing out on the games the last two opportunities may have been a blessing in disguise for South Korea.

In the last 10 years or so, Pyeongchang has been preparing for an eventual winning bid and, as a result, will provide one of the most prepared and most organized plans for the Winter Games.

Pyeongchang's preparation isn't the only thing that makes this city a great fit for the 2018 Winter Olympics though.

Here are three reasons South Korea will make a great host country.

Growing Popularity of WInter Sports in Asia

When South Korea submitted a bid for the 2010 Winter Games, the country began to take interest in all things winter sports. That interest has continued, and will continue, through the 2018 games.

The growing popularity of winter sports has been magnified by the success of South Korean athletes like figure skater Yuna Kim, who is the reigning Olympic Champion in ladies singles.

With the 2018 games being held in an Asian country, the winter games will likely gain popularity across the continent.

Organized Olympic Games Plan

Another advantage of failing to win the Olympic bid the last two opportunities is the extra time South Korea has had to prepare, and perfect, their Olympic Games plan and layout.

Pyeongchang's layout offers two separate venues—one for snow and one for ice—that are within 30 minutes of one another. This close proximity will allow media members, as well as fans, to quickly, and safely, travel from one venue to the next.

Not only will travel between venues for fans and media members be more efficient, but the athletes themselves will be able to reach their competitions in a timely matter.

Enthusiasm from South Korean People

As we saw with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, when a country is completely dedicated to putting on a successful Olympics, the results are usually impressive.

South Korea may not have the resources or financial capability to pull off a Beijing type of Olympics, but with 10 years of built up anticipation, they will definitely do all they can to make the 2018 Olympics one of the best ever.

With over 90 percent approval from the Korean people, a successful winter games seems imminent.