Bidding for the Games -- Election Impact for Pyeongchang; Munich Sponsor; Annecy Lake

New Governor, Co-Chair Coming for PyeongChang 2018

Voters across Korea will select mayors and provincial governors Wednesday – including the mountainous province of Gangwon, home to the 2018 bid for the Winter Games from PyeongChang.

Polls have closed and vote counting should be finished within hours.

Bowing out is Jin Sun Kim who has reached the limit of three terms, first elected in 1998.

Since then he has been a part of three consecutive winter bids from the province, the governmental entity which is the main backer of bringing the Games to PyeongChang.

For the 2018 campaign he serves as co-chair with Korean Airlines chair Yang Ho Cho, a post Kim will relinquish to the new governor.

The Olympics did not surface as an issue in the gubernatorial race between Grand National Party candidate Gye Jin Lee and Democratic Party candidate Gwang Jae Lee.

The GNP is the ruling national party; Lee is a former TV presenter.

The Democratic Party is the leading opposition party in Korea. Gwang Jae Lee was a confidant to former President Moo Hyun Roh, who committed suicide last year, a year after leaving office.

Although considered a close race, Gye Jin Lee is now favored by five points in the last polling to continue Grand National Party rule in Gangwon Province.

Outgoing Governor Kim is supposed to continue to play a key role in the international campaign for the Korean bid.

Munich Signs "Green" Sponsor

BayWa AG, an energy and construction group, will serve as the newest national sponsor for the Munich 2018 Olympic bid.

Munich 2018 announced the deal on Monday.

"With BayWa on board, we are even more confident that by 2018, Munich can deliver its ambitious targets: state-of-the-art life-cycle source reduction, lasting reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, innovative water-management and waste avoidance practices will all contribute to our sustainability goals" said Bavarian prime minister Horst Seehofer in a statement.

BayWa will help ensure Munich 2018 is eco-friendly. BayWa becomes the bid’s sixth national sponsor, and 10th sponsor in total.

Award for Lake Annecy

Although no winter sports will take place on Lake Annecy, the Annecy bid for the 2018 Gamesis celebrating an environmental award for its lake.

Lake Annecy received a second Blue Flag eco-label from the Foundation for Environmental Education this week. The Blue Flag label examines water quality and environmental management of beaches and marinas. The lake would serve as a backdrop for the opening ceremony.

"The water in Lake Annecy is so pure that it is used for local tap water," said Jean-Pierre Vidal, chairman of the Annecy 2018 Sustainable Development Advisory Committee. "It is the fruit of a long term vision that started over 30 years ago. It is proof of the respect for nature and the quality that we expect environmentally."

The Foundation for Environmental Education gave the Blue Flag award to 3450 beaches in 41 countries.

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Written by Ed Hula.