IOC faces stark choice says Austrian Chancellor

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) — The members of the International Olympic Committee face a definitive moment as to which direction the Winter Olympics take when they pick the candidate to host the 2014 edition, the Austrian Chancellor told AFP on Sunday.

Alfred Gusenbauer said that the slumping popularity of the Winter Games had prompted a debate among IOC members about the future of the event and as to how its popularity could be revived.

He insisted it was clear only Salzburg could achieve that.

The Austrian birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is competing with the Korean resort of Pyeongchang - runner-up last time - and the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"There are a decreasing amount of people watching the Winter Games as was made clear by the Killy report," Gusenbauer told AFP referring to a report compiled by legendary French skiier and now IOC member Jean-Claude Killy.

"This has ...