The Legacy of the Games
The PyeongChang Games have continued to win plaudits as the weeks have passed. Coupled with the recent news that 320,000 tickets, a record, were sold during the first three days of the Paralympics, it is undeniable that South Korea has managed to put on a highly successful Winter Games.
Nevertheless, the country will face a fresh, and arguably bigger challenge once the Paralympics come to a close. In the past, numerous countries have had issues legitimizing the vast sums of money that need to be invested into a range of sectors when one hosts a major sporting event.
For instance, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia is said to have cost upwards of $50 billion, yet local residents reported no economic benefits in the years that followed, and Russians in other areas of the country complained about footing the costs through their tax bills. Brazil is an even more extreme case. Hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics put a huge strain on an already faltering economy, and the result has been crumbling arenas and citizens protesting in the streets at the huge expenditure. Furthermore, due to mounting debts, post-Games proposals such as redeveloping the facilities into schools and homes have failed to materialize. Thus, the Korean government is under pressure to make sure the legacy of PyeongChang 2018 does not go the same way as many of its predecessors.
Fortunately, there are a number of signs that should make the citizens of Korea optimistic for a bright future, and that there will be more to the Games than simply having some of the world’s greatest athletes on their soil for several weeks. South Korea has a good track record when it comes to hosting major sporting events, the 1988 Summer Olympics and 2002 World Cup being good examples, and reaping the rewards in the years that follow. From the outset, the Korean government stated that the PyeongChang Games would be a sustainable event, and this can be observed in three areas.
Environmental Benefits
One just needs step outside in South Korea to recognize the deteriorating air quality, but infrastructure developed for the Games will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Even in the years leading up the event, it’s clear the government considered the need to minimize its carbon footprint. This can be supported by the fact that six of the newly built Olympic competition venues received green building certification.
The new express train line between Seoul and Gangneung will not only provide economic benefits but also put a dent in the number of vehicles on the roads. The automobiles that do remain will hopefully become progressively more electric powered with the government’s support. PyeongChang 2018 has helped this movement gain speed by producing 24 permanent electric vehicle recharging stations in the areas surrounding the venues.
Finally, a recently constructed wind farm that has provided electricity during the Olympics will continue to produce clean sustainable energy moving forward.
Giving Venues a Second Life
Athens 2004 is infamous for its ‘white elephants’ - facilities never or barely used following an Olympics - but this should not be the case in South Korea as eight of the venues will continue to be used as winter sports facilities. The goal is to help the region establish itself as an Asian winter sports hub for years to come. Also, locals are already benefitting as both the PyeongChang and Gangneung Olympic Villages, as well as the media village, have been sold for residential use.
Increasing Youth Participation in Sports
The Organizing Committee, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, launched an Olympic Education Program with the initiative of enabling more children throughout Korea to get into winter sports. South Korea and Asia as a whole have been historically poor at the Winter Games, so the goal is to increase participation at the grass-roots level with the hope that some will succeed in becoming the country’s future Olympians.
To sum up, positive headlines around the world over the past few weeks prove that South Korea has pulled it off again when it comes to hosting a major competition. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, if all of the post-Games proposals get put into action over the coming years, the legacy of PyeongChang 2018 will produce as much good as previous mega-events held in South Korea.