The head of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics says it is for South Korea to decide whether it will relocate the event’s sliding sports to another country.
 
Gunilla Lindberg made the remark on Sunday during an interview with the Associated Press. Her comment follows the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) request that the sliding venue be moved as part of new cost-cutting reforms.
 
According to the IOC, relocating the bobsled, luge and skeleton events would save over 120 billion dollars in construction and maintenance costs. It would also avoid leaving South Korea with a venue that it has little use for after the Olympics.
 
In the interview, Lindberg noted that the IOC has set March as the deadline for the decision. She added that the committee will help South Korea identify its options, such as where the other sliding centers are located.
 
Pyeongchang organizers, however, are said to be opposed to the switch. Shin Mu-chol, communications director for Pyeongchang’s organizing committee, dismissed media reports that listed Nagano, Japan as an option for the sliding venue. Shin said no such consideration has been made, adding that the organizing committee is already building a sliding center in Gangwon Province.