The International Olympic Committee this week will announce candidate cities for hosting the 2014 winter Olympics.

The South Korean city of Pyeongchang and Salzburg, Austria are being viewed as two frontrunners in the contest in light of their second- and third-place respective finishes in bidding to host the 2010 winter Olympics.

Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province finished first in the first round of voting for the 2010 Games but lost to Vancouver, Canada in the second round.

Once the candidates are selected, the committee will dispatch a task force to survey the cities next February and select the winner at its general meeting in Guatemala the following July.