PyeongChang, South Korea: This one has to be considered the odds-on favorite for several reasons. PyeongChang is bidding for the third straight time, and won the first round of voting in each of the previous elections before losing the final vote to Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014). This time, it looks like the Korean bid will be successful. They've already completed most of the venues and have a very compact plan. Most of the venues are no more than 10 minutes apart, and the mountains are less than 30 minutes from the heart of the city. The Korean people are also very determined to get the Games, and the bid has support by more than 90 percent of the country. The PyeongChang Games would also be the first held in mainland Asia, opening a whole new market for both winter sports and the Olympic movement. Another thing in PyeongChang's favor is Olympic politics. There's no official policy of continental rotation, but a lot of European cities want to bid for the 2020 Summer Games. That, combined with the fact that the 2014 Winter Games are in Russia, means the third time is likely the charm for PyeongChang.
Munich, Germany: PyeongChang's biggest competition is expected to come from Munich, which is seeking to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games (the 1972 Summer Olympics were in Munich). I've been to Munich and absolutely love the city, but that's why I don't think it should win. There are only a handful of cities/countries that are capable of bidding for the Winter Games. If you're able to pull off the Summer Olympics, give those cities a chance to host in the Winter. My other problem with the Munich bid is the fact that they want to use the Bavarian mountain resorts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the Alpine events. There's nothing wrong with that, but Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics, and if the same city is bidding again, it should be included in the bid's name. The people in Garmisch-Partenkirchen don't want the Games, either, which can definitely hurt Munich's chances. As for the bid's pros, Munich plans to use a number of existing venues (both from 1936 and 1972), and the area regularly hosts World Championships and World Cup events in a number of winter sports. Plus, Katarina Witt, one of the most popular Winter Olympians ever, is the bid chairman. These would also be the first Olympics held in Germany since reunification.
Annecy, France: Just like PyeongChang is the clear favorite, Annecy is the clear bronze medalist in this trio. This bid is plagued by the same problems every French Winter Olympic bid has to deal with: the venues in the Alps are too spread out. Another city in the region, Albertville, hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics, which were widely criticized for the same reason. In response, they re-drew their plan and put everything in two main clusters: Annecy and Chamonix, which are less than an hour apart. However, like I said about Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, ditto about Annecy and Chamonix. Chamonix was the host city for the first Winter Olympics in 1924. It shouldn't be relegated to the role of simply holding some events in an Olympics "hosted" by another city. The French government supports the bid, but the people in the Alpine towns don't. And their budget is entirely too low. It would be a bigger upset than Chicago losing in the first round two years ago if Annecy somehow manages to pull off a successful bid.
Eight years ago, PyeongChang, then an unknown Korean city, almost pulled off the upset of all upsets, losing to Vancouver 53-51. They were co-favorites four years ago, but Sochi, Russia, was picked. It's PyeongChang's time. If either European city is chosen, it would be an incredible surprise. Not to mention a tremendous upset, in more than one sense.
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