SEOUL -- The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games ceremonies will be held in Pyeongchang rather than nearly city of Gangneung, announced the South Korean government Thursday.

The government and the 2018 Olympic organizing committee had discussed this week whether to renovate an existing sports stadium in Gangneung rather than build a new facility in Pyeongchang suitable for the ceremonies.

The culture ministry later released a statement saying "the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games will be built in Pyeongchang. After the games, the relevant parties will discuss how to make use of the facility."

The new Pyeongchang venue will have a capacity of 40,000.

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