(Sports Network) - Three cities have officially submitted applications to the International Olympic Committee in an effort to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Munich, Germany; Annecy, France; and PyeongChang, South Korea became applicant cities and will now go through the process that will end with the IOC choosing a host in July 2011.

The two-step procedure starts with a review by the IOC to determine each city's potential to organize a successful Olympic Games. The IOC executive board will select official candidate cities by the end of June 2010.

Candidate cities will then have to submit an in-depth description of their Olympic project. An IOC evaluation commission will visit each city and a report will be delivered to the full IOC membership, which will then elect the host city on July 6, 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, which was heralded for Mark Spitz's incredible swimming triumphs but also included the tragic Israeli hostage crisis. Should Munich win, it would become the first city to host a Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

The last Winter Games in France took place in 1992 at Albertville, while PyeongChang will bid for a third time. Pyeongchang lost to Vancouver for the 2010 Games, falling short in a vote of 56-53, then finished second to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Olympics in a vote of 51-47.



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