The IOC's ruling Executive Board asked Annecy to review its concept.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC's Olympic Games Executive Director, said: "The Executive Board today decided that all three Applicant Cities deserved to move to the second phase of the bidding procedure.

"It has been made clear, however, that Annecy needed to review its project."

The main criticisms of Annecy's plans centered on the fact that it would consist of ten stand-alone venues, two Athletes Villages and the need for three additional athletes' accommodation centres.

The IOC report written out a Working Group had studied the bids said: "The project submitted to the IOC presents a number of significant challenges and a higher degree of risk.

"This concept would result in a complex set of organisational, logistical and financial challenges for all client groups.

"The Working Group was particularly concerned regarding the 'Olympic experience' for all client groups, especially the athletes"

Munich and Pyeongchang's sports venues plans were both praised as offering their respective cities "strong winter sports legacy", although there were some concerns about the plan of the German city to have a demountable speed skating oval, which the IOC described as "challenging".

The Executive Board's decision as based on a technical analysis of the Applicant Cities' bids submitted earlier this year.

It studied 10 criteria, including general infrastructure, the environmental concept, accommodation, transport, safety and security and finance.

The most local support for hosting the Games was in Pyeongchang, the report discovered.

Independent polls conducted by the IOC found that 93 per cent people there supported the bid with 81 per cent in Annecy but only 76 per cent in Munich.

The three Candidate Cities now have until January 11, 2011, to submit their Candidature File to the IOC.

These files will be analysed in detail by an IOC Evaluation Commission, which will also visit the Candidate Cities, before issuing a report no later than one month prior to the election.

The IOC, in a clear warning to Annecy, said: "At this point of the bidding procedure, the Executive Board has the possibility of narrowing down the number of cities, which will be given the opportunity to present their projects to the IOC Session."

The final vote is due to be held at the IOC Session in Durban on July 6, 2011.

Willy Bogner, the chief executive of Munich 2018, said: "We are delighted to have taken another step towards 2018.

"Over the next year, we will build on our strong foundations and continue developing the enthusiasm for Munich 2018."

Yangho Cho, the chairman and chief executive of Pyeongchang 2018, said: "We are honoured that the IOC has selected us as a Candidate City and look forward to sharing our vision for the Games with the Olympic Family in the coming months.

"A lot of dedication and hard work has brought us here today but we realise that we all have a long way to go until Durban.

"We are determined to listen and learn and continue to improve our Games Plan and Bid Book submission.

"We understand that some issues have been raised by the IOC in their report but we also know that we have a strong team in place that will address each of these concerns.

"We firmly believe we can help the Olympic Family connect with millions of new, young hearts and minds across the Asian region and contribute to the international growth of winter sport.”

To read the full IOC report on the three cities click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
June 2010: All 2018 Olympic bidders set for next stage