Seoul - Pyeongchang will join the bid race for the 2018 Winter Olympics as the South Korean town aims to come third time lucky. The South Korean Olympic Committee confirmed on Thursday that the winter sport resort some 180 kilometres north-east of the capital Seoul will make another attempt to land the Games.

Pyeongchang narrowly lost the 2010 bid against Canada's Vancouver and also missed out for 1014 when the International Olympic Committee elected the Russian Black Sea resort Sochi.

The official 2018 bid campaign starts in July and the host city is elected at the 2011 IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

Other cities set for a bid are Munich (Germany), Tromso (Norway) and Geneva (Switzerland). France is also expected to join the race, with Annecy or 1968 hosts Grenoble the likely candidate. (dpa)