PyeongChang, South Korea has been selected as host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The South Korean city beat finalists Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France, in the first round of voting at the IOC's annual meeting in Durban, South Africa. It was the third time PyeongChang has bid for the Winter Games, after losing to Vancouver, Canada, for the 2010 Games and finishing second to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
"Today is not about how many times someone has bid or how long we (Germany) have been waiting," said IOC vice president and Munich bid team member Thomas Bach. The question is whether we "explore new territories again or go back to our foundations," the Chicago Tribune reported.
The 2018 Winter Games will be the third Winter Olympics held in Asia following Sapporo, Japan, in 1972 and Nagano, Japan, on 1998. Tokyo is expected to bid for the 2020 Summer Games.
Seoul, South Korea, was host city of the 1988 Summer Olympics.