Workers in PyeongChang are making final preparations for the Winter Olympics, "a burst of activity that masks a big problem," according to Chung & Jin of REUTERS. With less than 100 days before the Games begin, "barely a third of the tickets have been sold." Local authorities said that "political tensions with North Korea and China have chilled foreign interest" in the Games, which open on Feb. 9. Ticket sales are "weak," with 341,327 sold, or 32% of the total on offer, as of Oct. 24 -- "much weaker" than during the run-up to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. More than 70% of Sochi's tickets were sold before the opening ceremony. PyeongChang Organizing Committee Secretary General Yeo Hyung-koo said that there is "still time to catch up." He added that the torch relay, which began in Korea on Wednesday, "will ignite domestic interest" (REUTERS, 11/1).
PEACE AND HOPE: REUTERS' Peter Rutherford reported the Olympic flame arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to "begin its journey" to the 2018 Games. Flown in from Athens following a handover ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium, the flame arrived "at a time of heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs." South Korea’s top priority is to deliver a “safe and secure” Olympics but there is "little doubt international confidence in the Games has been undermined" by the threats and insults exchanged by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in recent months. Despite the "long shadow of security concerns cast over the Games," the message on Wednesday was one of peace and hope, of the power of sport to overcome division and, as the torch relay slogan goes, to "Let everyone shine" (REUTERS, 10/31).
