KUWAIT: The South Korean port city of Incheon yesterday won the right to host the 2014 Asian Games, fending off a challenge from New Delhi to hold the lucrative multi-sport event.
The New Delhi delegation was devastated after insisting it was the frontrunner and had a right to win, having been overlooked since it was last selected in 1982.
The vote swung in Incheon’s favour after frantic last-minute lobbying by both sides of the 45 Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) nations making up the body that controls sport in the region.
The Asiad is expected to have a massive economic impact on the city, with officials forecasting it will create 270,000 new jobs and attract huge foreign investment.
The city currently has 11 Olympic-standard sports facilities, with four more being upgraded and five new stadiums in the planning phase. Another 17 will be built before the event, including new aquatics and tennis complexes.
It promised in its presentation, based on the theme “One United Asia”, that all the facilities would be built in an environmentally friendly manner, and outlined plans for an International Cultural Festival to coincide.
South Korea will now organise an Inter-ministerial Support Committee headed by new Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, appointed last month, to mobilise the resources to make the Games happen.
Prior to the final vote, Incheon held a 30-minute presentation that included a video message from South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. It promised to raise 20 million dollars to support Asian countries that have not yet won medals in the Asian Games.
“Korea’s accumulated experience from hosting some of the world’s greatest sporting events together with its advanced infrastructure, its surging economy and its passion for sports means Incheon is a safe bet,” South Korea said in its presentation document.
Incheon, a commercial and logistics hub for Northeast Asia with a population of 2.4 million, is best known as being the country’s main gateway. South Korea’s main international airport opened near the city in 2001.
New Delhi had based its “bid of a billion people” on its hospitality and said publicly it would offer free flights and accommodation to all the participants if it won.
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