Lausanne, Jan 11 (IANS): The 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be hosted in Gangwon province, South Korea.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the decision following its session on Friday in Lausanne, where the 2020 edition is underway, reports Xinhua news agency.

The decision means the winter YOG will, for the first time, take place in Asia. Gangwon province, with the cities PyeongChang, the host of 2018 Winter Olympic Games, and Gangneung, has all the facilities for the winter event.

According to the IOC, many of the PyeongChang 2018 facilities will be used to host mountain sports while ice sports are to be contested in Gangneung.

"We will continue the strong legacy of the recent Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang and work to achieve our vision of expanding new horizons in sport," said Park Yang-woo, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism of South Korea and head of the 2024 delegation.

It was also revealed by Octavian Morariu, chair of the IOC Future Host Commission, that Barcelona, Salt Lake City and Sapporo are interested in hosting the 2030, 2034 or 2038 Winter Olympic Games.