Koreas to Meet IOC About 2032 Bid

(ATR) The two Koreas will hold talks with the IOC in February on a possible joint bid for the 2032 Olympics.

North and South Korean sports officials reached the agreement during the latest round of talks in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, according to Yonhap.

The three-way meeting will be in Lausanne on Feb. 15. The sports ministers from the two Koreas will lead their respective delegations in the talks, which will include IOC President Thomas Bach.

Bach voiced support for a potential joint Korean bid after it was broached by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in September following their summit in Pyongyang.

Two countries have never shared hosting duties for any Olympics, summer or winter.

Potential competitors for a joint Korean bid are already lining up.

India recently joined Indonesia in submitting an expression of interest in bidding for the 2032 Games.

Chinese city Shanghai is also mulling over a bid, while Brisbane in Australia is looking into bringing the Games back to the country for the first time since Sydney 2000.

Germany has revealed a plan to host the 2032 Games in 13 cities throughout the country.

If Bach has his way, Buenos Aires could also be in the running.

Following a successful staging of the Youth Olympic Games in October, Bach said "nobody could have any doubt" of Buenos Aires as an Olympic host.

But Buenos Aires 2018 President Gerardo Werthein cautioned against an immediate foray into an Olympic bid, saying "We have to start thinking if Argentinians want this, if there is consensus, and if we have the economic resources."

Buenos Aires last bid for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

There is still plenty of time to decide. If the usual timetable is followed, the formal bid process for the 2032 Olympics will start in 2022 and a host city will be announced in 2025.

Written by Gerard Farek

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