With their slogan for the Winter Olympics "New Horizons", thousands of Koreans gathered at the foot of a ski jump well past midnight in a passionate display of excitement that included fireworks, singing, dancing, picnicking and kimchi - the traditional Korean side dish.

Pyeongchang beat out two other bid cities: Munich of Germany, and Annecy of France.

Pyeongchang narrowly failed in its bids for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, losing by three votes to Vancouver, Canada, for last year's event and by four votes to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 games. The sheer number of locals who came to watch the pre-announcement show at the ski jump showed their confidence in this year's decision.

France has hosted three editions of the Winter Olympics, most recently in 1992 in Albertville. Annecy met with many difficulties in its bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, including a small budget and change in leadership on the bid committee.

Had it won, Munich would have been the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The city attracted the Summer Games in 1972.

Representatives from the three cities made their cases to committee members in Durban, South Africa on July 6.