Incheon or New Delhi: Quality or Quantity?

Intense last-minute public relations-

The two cities which are competing for the 2014 Asian Games Bid, Incheon and New Delhi, set up adjacent PR booths in the ground floor lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Kuwait City on April 14 and began serious competition.

In the lobby, the number of Indians outnumbered Koreans as Indians, including Indian women in traditional costume and passing out leaflets swarmed through the lobby.

A member of the New Delhi Bid Committee showed strong confidence, saying, "Of the three million people who live in Kuwait City, 300,000 are Indian. We will work together to win the bid for the 2014 Asian Games."

From the Incheon Bidding Committee booth, 30 people, including local Korean residents and embassy employees, moved busily in and out of the hotel, appealing to OCA officials to support Incheon.

IOC member Chang Ung of North Korea came to Kuwait on April 14 to aid the Incheon Committee.

Director Lee Hyun-jeong of the Seoul Office of the Incheon Bidding Committee said, "Randhir Singh, President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and IOC member, is from India, and this certainly is a big factor. However, we have a pretty good chance with our Vision 2014 program, which supports countries that are weak in the world of sports."

Incheon`s Vision 2014 getting a positive reaction-

The Incheon Committee is confident about its chances to host the third Asian Games in Korea, following Seoul in 1986 and Busan in 2002.

Kim Jung-kil, president of the Korea Sports Council and Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), said, "I have been meeting people from OCA countries, and it seems that it is very likely Incheon will get the bid."

However, the New Delhi Committee is trying to win by power of quantity, promising to provide free air tickets and accommodations for the athletes of all participating countries.

The New Delhi Committee is emphasizing that India has not hosted the Asian Games since the 1982 New Delhi Games. They are also strongly pointing out the fact that East Asian countries have recently won more bids for athletic events: China will be hosting the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The Incheon Committee`s counter-strategy is to emphasize the fact that Incheon has never hosted the Asian Games in the past. Also, Incheon`s sports facilities and high-tech IT infrastructure will allow them to prepare an Olympic-level Asian Games.

Added to this is the Vision 2014 program. Vision 2014 is a program which provides support in the form of professional personnel and equipment to countries that have not been able to win many medals in the history of the Asian Games. This program, which is getting good feedback, is expected to meet New Delhi`s "quantity" with "quality."

beetlez@donga.com