PyeongChang 2018

08.02.2018 - 25.02.2018

PYEONGCHANG 2018, Republic of Korea Dates: 9 to 25 February 2018. Participation: 91 NOCs + Olympic athletes from Russia (OAR), 2,833 athletes (1,664 men, 1,169 women), 7 sports, 15 disciplines, 102 events, 22,400 volunteers, 2,853 written and photographic press and 10,898 broadcasters. Olympic oath (athletes): Mo Tae-Beom, speed skating. Olympic oath (officials): Kim Woosik, snowboard. Olympic oath (coaches): Park Ki-ho, Nordic combined. Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: Kim Yuna, figure skating. Official opening by: President Moon Jae-In. Emblem: the emblem’s design has its roots in Hangul, with the shapes that form the logo stemming from the first consonants of each syllable in the word “PyeongChang” when it is written in Hangul. The first character in the emblem also represents a gathering place where the three elements of Cheon-ji-in –heaven, earth, and human – are in harmony. The second character symbolises snow and ice, as well as the athletes’ stellar performances. PyeongChang 2018’s new emblem symbolises a grand gathering of people from all around the world in celebration of Olympic winter sports, which is taking place in the harmonious land of PyeongChang – “A square where the earth meets the sky, and where athletes excel in snow or on ice” where everyone celebrated the world’s biggest winter festival. Mascots: A white tiger named “Soohorang”. The white tiger has been long considered Korea’s guardian animal. “Sooho”, meaning “protection” in Korean, symbolises the protection offered to the athletes, spectators and other participants of the 2018 Games. “Rang” comes from the middle letter of “Horang-i”, the Korean word for tiger”, and is also the last letter of “Jeong-seon A-ri-rang”, a cherished traditional folk song of Gangwon Province, where the Games were held. “Soohorang” not only has a challenging spirit and passion but is also a trustworthy friend who protects the athletes, spectators and all the participants of the Olympic Games. Motto: “Passion. Connected.”. Olympic venues: PyeongChang mountain cluster: Alpensia Sports Park (biathlon, ski jumping, nordic combined, cross country skiing, luge, skeleton, bobsleigh, Bokwang Snow Park (snowboard, freestyle skiing), Jeongseon Alpine Centre (alpine skiing), Yongpyong Alpine Center (alpine skiing).Gangneung coastal cluster: Gangneung Olympic Park (curling, ice hockey, speed skating, short track, figure skating), Kwandong Hockey Center (ice hockey). The historic moment of these Games was when the athletes of the two Koreas marched together as one team at opening ceremony. Four new medal events were included on the Olympic programme: curling mixed doubles, speed skating mass start, Alpine skiing team event and snowboard big air, reflecting the continued evolution of the Winter Olympic programme and building on the success of recent editions of the Games. These Games also set records in terms of participation, with more NOCs taking part and more female athletes competing than ever before. Six NOCs competed for the first time. The performances of the athletes were watched by over a quarter of the world’s population, making PyeongChang the most digitally viewed Olympic Winter Games ever – an increase of 124 per cent from Sochi and 870 per cent from Vancouver. PyeongChang also enjoyed the largest amount of broadcast coverage in the history of the Olympic Winter Games, up 38 per cent from Sochi. Source : Factsheets, https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Factsheets/The-Olympic-Winter-Games.pdf To find out more, you can consult the resources of the Olympic Studies Centre, https://library.olympics.com/default.aspx?_lg=en-GB