After months of preparation, and with two failed bids behind it, the fateful day has come for Pyeongchang as the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics will be announced at midnight on Wednesday (Korean time) in Durban, South Africa.
The three candidate cities of Pyeongchang, Munich and Annecy, France, will make their final presentations at the General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the mid-afternoon in a bid to win over those who are still undecided.
Pyeongchang will be the last city to make its case. Following the presentation, an electronic vote will begin at 10:35 p.m., with the result to be announced by IOC chief Jacques Rogge at midnight.
Pyeongchang's bid committee believes there are still 10 floating votes up for grabs, which leaves open the possibility of the vote going into a second round. This happens when none of the candidates earn majority.
However none of the candidates probably want to see this happen. As such, President Lee Myung-bak has been working tirelessly on his English presentation in his hotel room following a summit with South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday.
Korea's IOC member Lee Kun-hee, who doubles as the chairman of electronics giant Samsung, said on Thursday that the race is expected to go down to the wire and that nothing can be taken for granted, despite Pyeongchang's experience.
"Much has changed since we first came," he said. "We have to do our best until the very last minute."
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