PyeongChang 2018 is the 23rd edition of the most prestigious competition for winter sports and before the beginning it has already become the Olympics of records!
As winter time is a hard period to train outside, why not playing other sports as cross-country skiing and ice skating or at least watching to them? 2018 Winter Olympic Games is the right chance!
The place will be Pyeongchang in South Korea. It succeded at the expenses of Munich (Germany) and Annecy (France) to be named as hosts back in 2011. Pyeongchang, known as a popular ski destination in Asia, is located 700 meters (2,296 feet) above the sea level in the north-east part of the country. Spectators at the open-air Olympic Stadium will likely brave extreme cold temperatures and bitter winds, as it seems that is the Earth’s coldest location for that latitude!
Competitions started yesterday 7th February, but the lively contests will begin from 10th February with the first medallists to be appointed. The opening ceremony will be on 9th February at 12:00 UTC.
The key numbers of PyeongChang 2018 Olympics:
- 2,952 athlets
- 92 nations
- 102 disciplines
All of them show an increase if compared to Sochi 2014, as an example four new disciplines were introduced in this new edition: big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating, mixed team alpine skiing.
For six countries – Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore – will be the first Winter Olympic Games participation. We can in some ways add Tonga that has a story to tell: it is the second olympic presence in cross-country skiing.
As other recent editions, even PyeongChang 2018 has its own mascot: Soohorang. It is a white tiger, considered to be Korea’s guardian animal. “Sooho”, means 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 “Ho-rang-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 will be held.
Protecting athletes and participants but also protecting the environment: what about the impact of such a big event?
Over the past decade, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has promoted environmental sustainability. The Olympics host countries prepared renewable energy, carbon offsets and conservation aspects of their hosting plan. Pyeongchang, South Korea, is renewing the trend: solar and wind power will provide energy to event venues, a recycling infrastructure and a new public transportation network has also been created. Information about carbon offsets, GHG emissions, real-time air quality and water quality are available online.
Well, let the Games begin!
Detailed competition schedule: PyeongChang 2018 Olympics
