In a recent survey, South Koreans support the idea – but less so when the question of cost comes up.
Officials from North and South Korea confirmed this month their interest in cohosting the 2032 Summer Olympics. That this was the case was no surprise: the two countries often use sports as a way to improve relations across the demilitarized zone (DMZ), having formed multiple joint teams for various competitions, including women’s ice hockey at the PyeongChang Olympics, and potential teams for several sports at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Recently, a joint North-South Korean team even won a gold medal at the Asian Games, the first such victory for these two countries at a multi-sport event.
However, forming a joint team for a brief period is by no means a good indicator of whether these countries will be up to the complicated task of hosting an Olympics, especially as relations between these two nations are can be quite volatile.
The Korean joint bid will compete with bids from several other countries, likely including Australia, China, India, and Indonesia. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not announce the official host for some time, giving these countries plenty of time to prepare their bids. The IOC only recently decided to start allowing joint bids, so just a handful of countries have even discussed the idea so far. Considering the lack of precedent, the IOC may have reservations about the first joint bid occurring between two countries with such an unstable relationship.
The complex costs of hosting an Olympics leave many hosts in debt and with infrastructure costs (e.g. stadiums) that have limited use after the games, something cities must consider before making a bid. The IOC has recently tried to mitigate these costs with its Olympic Agenda 2020, encouraging countries to use existing and temporary facilities, but hosting the Olympics still remains costly.
