IOC President arrives in PyeongChang on newly built KTX high-speed railway

"It is a great pleasure finally arriving here and to look forward to these Olympic Winter Games with great anticipation. The stage is set, you see the athletes arriving, you see the snow coming. Everything is falling into place now and we can look forward to great sport," Thomas Bach told the waiting reporters. He went on to say: "The Korean people know that the world is looking at Korea, and that people all over the world are enthusiastic about the news from Korea."

The IOC President took the newly built KTX high-speed rail line, which connects Incheon International Airport and Seoul with PyeongChang and Gangneung. This line is one of the legacies of these Games as it opens up the region to more people and to further economic development. People can now reach this area much more easily from other parts of the country.

To get a feeling for the atmosphere building ahead of the Games, President Bach made his first visit to the athletes of Team Korea, who were training in a gym in PyeongChang. Taking selfies and encouraging them to strive for their goals, he told them: "Keep working hard, but don’t forget it is also fun."

From Team Korea, Thomas Bach went to visit "team" POCOG. At the headquarters of the Organising Committee, he addressed the staff in the main operations centre: "Seeing how well prepared you are and how structures are established, we can look forward to the Olympic Winter Games with great confidence. You are part of a great team to which everybody belongs. The volunteers who I met earlier at the train station are doing a fantastic job, just like you. When I see their and your smiles I know that the Games are in very good hands."