No plans to shift 2018 Winter Games events

Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics organisers say they have no intention of moving any events outside South Korea to Japan in an effort to save costs.

Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics organisers said on Monday they had no intention of moving any events outside South Korea, following reports that some competitions may be shifted to Japan in an effort to save costs.

"All necessary preparations are underway ... on the assumption that all competitions will be held as planned," a Pyeongchang organising committee spokeswoman told AFP.

"We are not considering the idea of holding some competitions elsewhere."

The statement followed reports that the bobsleigh and luge events may be shifted to the Japanese city of Nagano.

The IOC is to vote this week on a series of reforms that would allow Pyeongchang and future hosts of the summer and winter Games -- including Tokyo in 2020 -- more flexibility in the sports they stage and where they stage them.

The reforms are aimed at making the Games more cost effective and sustainable for bidding cities.

Pyeongchang has run into financial difficulties in its preparations for 2018 and wants the South Korean government to pay more toward the cost of a new main stadium.

But another organising committee spokesman, Shin Moo-Chul, stressed that moving events to Japan was not being considered as an option, especially given current diplomatic tensions between Japan and South Korea over a number of territorial and historical disputes.

"It is our stance that holding some competitions in (Japan) will be very difficult, given the public sentiment here," Shin said in an interview with KBS TV station on Monday.

The Japanese Olympic Committee also denied any ongoing discussions regarding Nagano hosting some events in 2018.


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