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, nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
(15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by =
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium =
Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium () was a temporary venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The stadium was demolished after the Games. Backgr ...
, winter_prev =
Sochi 2014 , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
, winter_next =
Beijing 2022 The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
, summer_prev =
Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
, summer_next =
Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpik) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 ( ko, 평창2018, Pyeongchang Icheon sip-pal), were an international winter
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in
Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
, South Korea, with the opening rounds for certain events held on 8 February, a day before the opening ceremony. Pyeongchang was elected as the host city for the 2018
Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...
at the 123rd IOC Session in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa in July 2011. This marked the second time that South Korea had hosted the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
(having previously hosted the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in Seoul), as well as the first time it hosted the Winter Olympics. The 2018 Games marked the third time that an Asian country had hosted the Winter Olympics, after
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
and
Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...
1998, both in Japan. It was also the first Winter Olympics to be held in mainland
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, and the first of three consecutive Olympic Games to be held in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
, preceding the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in Tokyo, Japan and the
2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
in Beijing, China. The 2018 Games featured 102 events over 15 disciplines, a record number of events for the Winter Games. This is the first edition in Winter Olympic Games history to feature more than 100 medal events, four of which made their Olympic debut in 2018: "big air" snowboarding,
mass start {{refimprove, date=February 2018 Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in sport of athletics, speed skating, long-distance cross-country skiing and biathlon. There are usually many competitors in ...
speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...
,
mixed doubles curling Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 1991 Census * Mixed (album), ''Mixed'' ...
, and mixed team
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
. A total of 2,914 athletes from 93 teams competed, with the national debuts of
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
,
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. After a state-sponsored doping program was exposed following the 2014 Winter Olympics, the
Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий ...
was suspended, but selected athletes were allowed to compete neutrally under the special IOC designation of " Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR), provided they could meet certain anti-doping requirements.
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
agreed to participate in the Games in spite of tense relations with South Korea. The two nations paraded together at the opening ceremony as a
unified Korea Korean reunification () is the potential reunification of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North–South ...
, and fielded a unified team (COR) in the
women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hoc ...
. South Korea ranked seventh overall at the 2018 Winter Games, with five gold medals and 17 overall medals. South Korea has traditionally been a country that won many medals in
short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...
, but in this competition, it also won medals in skeleton racing,
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
and
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
. South Korea's
Yun Sung-Bin Yun Sung-Bin (Hangul: 윤성빈; born 23 May 1994) is a South Korean skeleton racer. He won the gold medal in men's skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and was a participant at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Early life a ...
won a gold medal in men's skeleton racing, the first Olympic gold ever won by Asia in the sledding event.
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
led the total medal tally with 39, followed by
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
at 31 and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at 29. Germany and Norway were tied for the highest number of gold medals, both winning 14.


Bidding and election

Pyeongchang's award card, announced by the IOC's_honorary_president_ IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_">Jacques_Rogge.html"_;"title="IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge">IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_ IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_">Jacques_Rogge.html"_;"title="IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge">IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_ file:월정사1.jpg">thumb.html" ;"title="file:월정사1.jpg.html" ;"title="Jacques_Rogge_.html" ;"title="Jacques_Rogge.html" ;"title="IOC's honorary president IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_">Jacques_Rogge.html"_;"title="IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge">IOC's_honorary_president_Jacques_Rogge_ file:월정사1.jpg">thumb">Woljeongsa_in_Pyeongchang,_Gangwon_Province,_South_Korea.html" ;"title="Jacques Rogge">IOC's honorary president Jacques Rogge ">Jacques_Rogge.html" ;"title="IOC's honorary president Jacques Rogge">IOC's honorary president Jacques Rogge file:월정사1.jpg">thumb">Woljeongsa in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, South Korea">Gangwon-do file:오대산_상원사.jpg, Sangwonsa in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, South Korea, Gangwon-do
Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
was elected as the host city at the 123rd IOC Session in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa, on 6 July 2011, earning the necessary majority of at least 48 votes in just one round of voting. Winning 63 of the 95 votes cast in the first secret ballot, Pyeongchang received more votes than its competitors combined, overwhelmingly beating
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in Germany, which received 25 votes, and
Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...
in France, which received seven. This was South Korea's third consecutive bid for the Winter Olympics, having been defeated by
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
respectively in the final rounds of voting for the
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and 2014 Games. Earlier, PyeongChang lost to Vancouver with a difference of 3 votes in bidding the 2010 Olympics, and lost to Sochi with a difference of 4 votes in bidding the 2014 Olympics. Since then, South Korea made great progress in preparing to host the Winter Olympics and succeeded in hosting the 2018 Olympics after three challenges. After winning the election, Pyeongchang became the third Asian city to host the Winter Olympics. Also, South Korea became the second country in Asia to host both the Summer ( 1988 Seoul Olympics) and Winter Olympics.


Development and preparation

On 5 August 2011, the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) announced the formation of the Pyeongchang 2018 Coordination Commission. On 4 October 2011, it was announced that the Organizing Committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics would be headed by Kim Jin-sun. The
Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) is an organisation that oversees the planning and development of the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. POCOG's headquarters is located in the host ...
(POCOG) was launched at its inaugural assembly on 19 October 2011. The first tasks of the organizing committee were putting together a master plan for the Games as well as forming a design for the venues. The IOC Coordination Commission for the 2018 Winter Olympics made their first visit to Pyeongchang in March 2012. By then, construction was already underway on the Olympic Village. In June 2012, construction began on a high-speed rail line that would connect Pyeongchang to
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
. The
International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
met for an orientation with the Pyeongchang 2018 organizing committee in July 2012. Then-IOC President
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...
visited Pyeongchang for the first time in February 2013. The Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games created Pyeongchang WINNERS in 2014 by recruiting university students living in South Korea to spread awareness of the Olympic Games through
social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
s and news articles.


Medals

The design for the Games' medals was unveiled on 21 September 2017. Created by Lee Suk-woo, the design features a pattern of diagonal ridges on both sides, with the Olympic rings on the front, and the obverse showing the 2018 Olympics' emblem, the event name and the discipline. The edge of each medal is marked with extrusions of
hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
alphabets, while the ribbons are made from a traditional South Korean textile. Gold medals contained 99 percent of silver and 1 percent of gold, which is a traditional composition for Olympic gold medals. At they were the heaviest medals in the Olympic history.


Torch relay

The torch relay started on 24 October 2017 in Greece and lasted for 101 days, ending at the start of the Olympics on 9 February 2018. The Olympic torch entered South Korea on 1 November 2017. There were 7,500 torch bearers to represent the combined
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n population of approximately 75 million people. There were also 2,018 support runners to guard the torch and act as messengers. The torch and its bearers traveled by a diverse means of transportation, including by
turtle ship A ''Geobukseon'' ( ko, script=Hang, 거북선, ), also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon dynasty from the early 15th century ...
in Hansando Island,
sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...
on the
Baengmagang River The Geumgang River is located in South Korea. It is a major river that originates in Jangsu-eup, North Jeolla Province. It flows northward through North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces and then changes direction in the vicinity of Greater ...
in
Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ ( Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korea ...
, marine cable car in
Yeosu Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea an ...
,
zip-wire A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bott ...
over
Bamseom Bamseom is a pair of islets in the River Han in Seoul, South Korea. Bamseom means "chestnut island". The uninhabited islets, with a total area of about and length of , are located between the larger island of Yeouido, to which they were once c ...
Island,
steam train A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
in the
Gokseong Gokseong County (''Gokseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Climate Attractions * Taeansa TempleCin Woo Le"Simply stunning: 33 incredible Korean temples" ''CNN Go''. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-12 * Neungpa Towe ...
Train Village, marine rail bike along the east coast in
Samcheok Samcheok () is a city in Gangwon-do, South Korea. History Ancient age & Three Kingdom * It was called "Siljikguk or Siljikgokguk" * 102 under the rule of Silla ( Pasa 23rd) * 468 under the rule of Goguryeo ( Jangsu 56th) * 505 The name changed ...
, and by
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
in
Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
Metropolitan City. There were also robot torch relays in
Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...
and
Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...
.


Venues

Alpensia_Resort_and_wind_turbines_in_
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,_while_some_of_the_alpine_skiing_events_took_place_in_the_neighboring_county_of_Jeongseon_County.html" "title="Pyeongchang_.html" ;"title="Pyeongchang.html" ;"title="Alpensia Resort and wind turbines in Pyeongchang">Alpensia Resort and wind turbines in Pyeongchang ">Pyeongchang.html" ;"title="Alpensia Resort and wind turbines in Pyeongchang">Alpensia Resort and wind turbines in Pyeongchang Most of the outdoor snow events were held in the county of
Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
, while some of the alpine skiing events took place in the neighboring county of Jeongseon County">Jeongseon Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon Arirang," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor Won Bin and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon. H ...
. The indoor ice events were held in the nearby city of Gangneung.


Pyeongchang (mountain cluster)

The Alpensia Resort, Alpensia Sports Park in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, was the focus of the 2018 Winter Olympics. It was home to the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, the
Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...
and most of the outdoor sports venues. *
Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre (알펜시아 스키점프 경기장) is a ski jumping hills located at Alpensia Resort in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They hosted the ski jumping and the nordic combined events during the 2018 Winter Olympics. They als ...
 – ski jumping, Nordic combined, snowboarding (big air) * Alpensia Biathlon Centre – biathlon * Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre – cross-country skiing, Nordic combined *
Alpensia Sliding Centre The Olympic Sliding Centre (올림픽 슬라이딩 센터) is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track that is located in Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang, South Korea. The centre is located between the Alpensia and Yongpyong Resort. The venue is one ...
 – luge, bobsleigh, skeleton * Yongpyong Alpine Centre – alpine skiing (slalom, giant slalom) Additionally, a stand-alone outdoor sports venue was located in
Bongpyeong-myeon Bongpyeong-myeon () is a myeon (township) in the county of Pyeongchang in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. The myeon is located in northwestern part of the county. The total area of Bongpyeong-myeon is 217.41 square kilometers, and, as o ...
, Pyeongchang: * Phoenix Snow Park – freestyle skiing, snowboarding Another stand-alone outdoor sports venue was located in neighboring Jeongseon county: *
Jeongseon Alpine Centre Jeongseon Alpine Centre (정선 알파인 경기장) was an alpine skiing area in South Korea. It was located on the slopes of the mountain of Gariwangsan, in Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon County, Bukpyeong-myeon in the county of Jeongseon County, Jeo ...
 – alpine skiing (downhill, super-G, combined)


Gangneung (coastal cluster)

The
Gangneung Olympic Park The Gangneung Olympic Park is a sports complex area in Gyo-dong, Gangneung, South Korea, which contains four of the 2018 Olympic Games venues and served as the Olympic Park. It includes the following venues: * Gangneung Hockey Centre – Ice H ...
, in the neighborhood of Gyo-dong in Gangneung city, includes four indoor sports venues, all in close proximity to one another. *
Gangneung Hockey Centre Gangneung Hockey Centre ( ko, 강릉 아이스하키 경기장) is an indoor arena located in the coastal city of Gangneung, South Korea. The arena was one of the two venues for the ice hockey events at the 2018 Winter Olympics, serving as the mai ...
 – ice hockey (men's competition) *
Gangneung Curling Centre Gangneung Gymnasium (강릉실내종합체육관) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in the coastal city of Gangneung, South Korea. It was opened in 1998 for Ice hockey at the 1999 Asian Winter Games, ice hockey at the 1999 Asian Winter Games ...
 – curling *
Gangneung Oval The Gangneung Oval (Korean: 강릉 스피드 스케이팅 경기장) is a speed skating oval in South Korea, which was used for the speed skating competitions at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The building of the oval was started in September 2013. Th ...
 – long track speed skating *
Gangneung Ice Arena Gangneung Ice Arena ( ko, 강릉 아이스 아레나) is an indoor Ice rink, ice arena, built for the 2018 Winter Olympics. It is located in the coastal city of Gangneung. It was the venue for two sports: Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics ...
 – short track speed skating, figure skating In addition, a stand-alone indoor sports venue was located in the grounds of
Catholic Kwandong University Catholic Kwandong University (가톨릭관동대학교) is a South Korean university located in Gangneung, Gangwon-do. The university was established in 1954. The Kwandong Hockey Centre is on its grounds. Notable people *Xiumin ( Exo) *Park G ...
. *
Kwandong Hockey Centre Catholic Kwandong University Gymnasium is located on the grounds of Catholic Kwandong University in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea. During the 2018 Winter Olympics, it is one of the two venues for Ice Hockey. The official name as the Winter O ...
 – ice hockey (women's competition)


Ticketing

Ticket prices for the 2018 Winter Olympics were announced in April 2016 and tickets went on sale in October 2016. Event tickets ranged in price from
₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike going through the cent ...
20,000 South Korean won (approx.
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) to ₩900,000 (~US$) while tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies ranged from ₩220,000 (~US$) to ₩1.5 million (~US$). The exact prices were determined through market research; around 50% of the tickets were expected to cost about ₩80,000 (~US$) or less, and tickets in sports that are relatively unknown in the region, such as biathlon and luge, were made cheaper in order to encourage attendance. By contrast, figure skating and the men's ice hockey gold-medal game carried the most expensive tickets of the Games. As of 11 October 2017, domestic ticket sales for the Games were reported to be slow. Of the 750,000 seats allocated to South Koreans, only 20.7% had been sold. International sales were more favorable, with 59.7% of the 320,000 allocated tickets sold. However, as of 31 January 2018, 77% of all tickets had been sold.


The Games


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the
Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium () was a temporary venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The stadium was demolished after the Games. Backgr ...
on 9 February 2018. The US$100 million facility was only intended to be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of these Olympics and the subsequent Paralympics; it was demolished following their conclusion.


Sports

The 2018 Winter Olympics featured 102 events over 15 disciplines in 7 sports, making it the first Winter Olympics to surpass 100 medal events. Six new events in existing sports were introduced to the Winter Olympic program in Pyeongchang: men's and ladies'
big air Big air is a high-injury-risk sports discipline where the competitor rides a vehicle, such as a motocross motorcycle, a skateboard, a snowboard, or a pair of skis, down a hill or ramp and performs aerial tricks after launching off very large jumps ...
snowboarding,
mixed doubles curling Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 1991 Census * Mixed (album), ''Mixed'' ...
, men's and ladies' mass start speed skating, and mixed team alpine skiing. ''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each separate discipline.''


Participating National Olympic Committees

A record total of 93 teams qualified at least one athlete to compete in the Games. The number of athletes who qualified per country is listed in the table below (number of athletes shown in parentheses). Six nations made their Winter Olympics debut: Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore. Athletes from three further countries – the Cayman Islands, Dominica and Peru – qualified to compete, but all three National Olympic Committees returned the quota spots back to the
International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
(FIS). Under a historic agreement facilitated by the IOC, qualified athletes from
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
were allowed to cross the
Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...
into South Korea to compete in the Games. The two nations marched together under the Korean Unification Flag during the opening ceremony. A unified Korean team, consisting of 12 players from North Korea and 23 from South Korea, competed in the women's ice hockey tournament under a special IOC country code designation (COR) following talks in
Panmunjom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korea ...
on 17 January 2018. The two nations also participated separately: the South Korea team competed in every sport and the North Korea team competed in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating and short track speed skating. On 5 December 2017, the IOC announced that the
Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий ...
had been suspended due to the Russian doping scandal and the investigation into the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
in Sochi. Individual Russian athletes, who qualified and could demonstrate they had complied with the IOC's doping regulations, were given the option to compete at the 2018 Games as " Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR) under the
Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
and with the
Olympic anthem The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...
played at any ceremony.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

Apart from the respective delegations, North Korea and South Korea formed a unified Korean women's ice hockey team.
Russian athletes were entitled to participate as Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) if individually cleared by the IOC.


Event scheduling

The IOC has allowed
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
to influence the Olympic event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible, due to the substantial fees paid by NBC for rights to the Olympics (which have been extended through 2032 with a nearly $8 billion agreement), the company being one of IOC's major sources of revenue. As
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
is one of the most popular Winter Olympic sports among U.S. viewers, the figure skating events were scheduled with morning start times to accommodate primetime broadcasts in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
. This scheduling practice affected the events themselves, including skaters having to adjust to the modified schedule, as well as lower attendance levels at the sessions. Conversely, and somewhat controversially, eight of the eleven biathlon events were scheduled at night, making it necessary for competitors to ski and shoot under floodlights, with colder temperatures and blustery winds.


Calendar

:''All dates are KST (
UTC+9 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time wit ...
)''


Medal table


Podium sweeps

Three
podium sweep A podium sweep is where a team or nation comes in first, second and third, such as at the Olympics, and wins all available medals, which are recognized by a podium ceremony. The word Whitewash (sport), sweep is commonly used in North American sport ...
s were recorded during the Games.


Records

*
Noriaki Kasai is a Japanese ski jumper. His career achievements include a gold medal at the FIS Ski Flying World Championships 1992, 1992 Ski Flying World Championships, winning the Nordic Tournament 1999, 1999 Nordic Tournament, individual silver medal at th ...
of Japan became the first athlete in history to participate in eight Winter Olympics when he took part in the ski jumping qualification the day before the opening of the Games. The previous record of seven Winter Olympics was held by Russian luger
Albert Demchenko Albert Mikhailovich Demchenko (russian: Альберт Михайлович Демченко; born 27 November 1971) is a Russian luger who competed from 1992 to 2014. He is currently coaching the Russian luge team. His daughter Victoria Demchenk ...
. * Japanese athlete
Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...
became the fourth male figure skater (after
Gillis Grafström Gillis Emanuel Grafström (7 June 1893 – 14 April 1938) was a Swedish figure skater. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He won three successive Olympic gold medals in Men's Figure Skating (1920, 1924, 1928) as well as an Olympic silver medal in ...
, Karl Schäfer, and
Dick Button Richard Totten Button (born July 18, 1929) is an American former figure skater and skating analyst. He is a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive World champion (1948–1952). He is also the only non-European man to h ...
) to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals. * American
Nathan Chen Nathan Chen (born May 5, 1999) is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion (2018, 2019, 2021), the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), a ten ...
became the first figure skater to land five quadruple jumps in one program. * German figure skaters Aliona Savchenko and
Bruno Massot Bruno Massot (born 28 January 1989) is a French-German pair skating coach and former competitor. Competing with Aljona Savchenko for Germany, he is the 2018 Olympic Champion, the 2018 World Champion, a two-time European silver medalist, and t ...
set a new ISU best free skating score of 159.31 in
pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
. * Canadian figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history with a total of 5 medals. * Canadian figure skaters
Tessa Virtue Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, 2012, 2017) ...
and Scott Moir set a new ISU best short dance score of 83.67 and a new ISU best combined total score of 206.07 in ice dance. French ice dancers
Gabriella Papadakis Gabriella Maria Papadakis (born 10 May 1995) is a French ice dancer. With her partner, Guillaume Cizeron, she is a 2022 Olympic champion, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a five-time World champion (2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2022), a five-time con ...
and
Guillaume Cizeron Guillaume Cizeron (born 12 November 1994) is a French ice dancer. With his partner, Gabriella Papadakis, he is the 2022 Olympic champion, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a five-time World champion (2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2022), a five-time ...
set a new ISU best free dance score of 123.35. * Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova set a new ISU best short program score of 82.92 in Ladies' single skating. * Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer won gold in the men's 5000 m event, becoming the only male speed skater to win the same Olympic event three times. He was also the first man to win a total of eight Olympic medals in speed skating. * Dutch speed skater
Ireen Wüst Irene Karlijn (Ireen) Wüst (; born 1 April 1986) is a Dutch former long track speed skater. Wüst became the most successful speed skating olympian ever by achieving at least one gold medal in each of five consecutive Winter Olympic appearances ...
won an individual gold medal for the fourth Olympics in a row, the first time this had been achieved by a Winter Olympian. She also became the first speed skater (male or female) to win ten Winter Olympic medals and the first female Winter Olympian to win nine individual medals. * Chinese short track speed skater
Wu Dajing Wu Dajing (born 24 July 1994) is a Chinese short track speed skater. He is a gold medalist in the Men's 500 metres at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. He won a gold medal in the Men's 500m at the 2014 ISU World Championships in ...
beat the men's 500 m world record twice en route to winning a gold medal, becoming only the second person in history to skate the discipline in under 40 seconds (after American
J. R. Celski John Robert "J. R." Celski (, born July 17, 1990) is a retired American short track speed skater, three-time Olympic Games, Olympian, and three-time medalist in the Winter Olympics. Celski has held a total of five combined Short Track World and ...
), and the first to achieve this at "sea level". * Dutch athlete
Jorien ter Mors Jorien ter Mors (; born 21 December 1989) is a retired Dutch speed skater on both short track and long track. She was the Olympic champion in the 1500 metres and team pursuit (long track) at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 1000 metres at the ...
became the first female athlete to win Olympic medals in two different sports at a single Winter Games; she won a speed skating gold medal in the 1000 m and she was also part of the Dutch short track team that won bronze in the 3000 m relay. *
Ester Ledecká Ester Ledecká (, born 23 March 1995) is a Czech snowboarder and alpine skier. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Ledecká won gold medals in the super-G in alpine skiing and in the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding, becoming the ...
of the Czech Republic won gold in the super-G skiing event and another gold in the snowboarding parallel giant slalom, making her the first female athlete to win Olympic gold medals in two different sports at a single Winter Games. * Norwegian cross-country skier
Marit Bjørgen Marit Bjørgen (born 21 March 1980) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories. Bjørgen is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country W ...
won bronze in the women's team sprint and gold in the 30 km classical event, bringing her total Olympic medal haul to fifteen, the most won by any athlete (male or female) in Winter Olympics history. The record was previously held by fellow Norwegian athlete
Ole Einar Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen () (born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medali ...
who has thirteen Olympic medals. * Germany and Canada tied for gold in the two-man bobsleigh event, only the second time in history that two countries had tied for a gold medal in this particular event, the first time being in the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
twenty years earlier. * Norway won a total of 39 medals, setting a new record for the highest number of medals won at a single Winter Olympics. Their 39th medal was the last gold medal won by cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen in the 30 km classical event. The record was previously held by the USA who won 37 medals in
Vancouver 2010 )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
.


Closing ceremony

The
closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the
Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium () was a temporary venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The stadium was demolished after the Games. Backgr ...
on 25 February 2018.
IOC president The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...
Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...
declared the Games closed, and the cauldron was extinguished. The Olympic flag was handed to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, the next host city of the Winter Olympics.


Broadcasting

Broadcast rights to the 2018 Winter Olympics were already sold in some countries as part of long-term broadcast rights deals, including the Games' local rightsholder SBS, which in July 2011 had extended its rights to the Olympics through 2024. SBS sub-licensed its rights to MBC and KBS. On 29 June 2015, the IOC announced that Discovery Communications (now
Discovery, Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual television, factual and lifestyle television bra ...
) had acquired exclusive rights to the Olympics across all of Europe (excluding Russia) from 2018 through 2024. Discovery's pan-European
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
channels were promoted as the main broadcaster of the Games, but Discovery's free-to-air channels such as DMAX in Spain, Kanal 5 in Sweden, and
TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...
in Norway, were also involved in the overall broadcasting arrangements. Discovery was required to sub-license at least 100 hours of coverage to free-to-air broadcasters in each market; some of these agreements required certain sports to be exclusive to Eurosport and its affiliated networks. The deal did not initially cover France due to the broadcast rights of
France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...
, which run through to the 2020 Games. In the United Kingdom, Discovery held exclusive pay television rights under licence from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, in return for the BBC sub-licensing the free-to-air rights to the 2022 and 2024 Olympics from Discovery. Russian state broadcaster Channel One, and sports channel
Match TV Match TV (russian: Матч ТВ) is a Russian federal sports channel owned by Gazprom Media. The channel began broadcasting on November 1, 2015 and was created in accordance with the order of Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the assist ...
, committed to covering the Games with a focus on Russian athletes. Russia was not affected by the Eurosport deal, due to a pre-existing contract held by a marketing agency which extends to 2024. In the United States, the Games were once again broadcast by NBCUniversal properties under a long-term contract (this would be the only time that the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics will be held on NBC on the same year). On 28 March 2017, NBC announced that it would adopt a new format for its primetime coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics, with a focus on live coverage in all time zones to take advantage of Pyeongchang's 14-hour difference with U.S.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
(and 17-hour difference with U.S.
Pacific Time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...
), and to address criticism of its previous tape delay practices. As before, the primetime block began at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT), and unlike previous Olympics, was available for streaming.
Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
events were deliberately scheduled with morning sessions so they could be aired during primetime in the Americas (and in turn, NBC's coverage; due to the substantial fees NBC has paid for rights to the Olympics, the IOC has allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible; NBC agreed to a $7.75 billion contract extension on 7 May 2014, to air the Olympics through the 2032 games, is also one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC). Coverage took a break in the East for late local news, after which coverage continued into "Primetime Plus", featuring additional live coverage into the Eastern late night and Western primetime hours.
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
and
Olympic Broadcasting Services Olympic Broadcasting Services S.L. (OBS) is a company which was established by the International Olympic Committee in 2001 in order to serve as the Host Broadcaster organisation for all Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Olympic Winter Games an ...
(OBS) once again filmed portions of the Games in high-dynamic-range
8K resolution 8K resolution refers to an image or display resolution with a width of approximately 8,000 pixels. 8K UHD () is the highest resolution defined in the Rec. 2020 (UHDTV) standard. 8K display resolution is the successor to 4K resolution. TV manuf ...
video, including 90 hours of footage of selected events and the opening ceremonies.
ATSC 3.0 ATSC 3.0 is a major version of the ATSC standards for television broadcasting created by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). The standards are designed to offer support for newer technologies, including HEVC for video channels of u ...
digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' ...
, using
4K resolution 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
, was introduced in South Korea in 2017 in time for the Olympics. This footage was delivered in 4K in the U.S. by NBCUniversal parent Comcast to participating television providers, including its own
Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
, as well as
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
and
Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
. NBC's
Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
-based affiliate
WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which h ...
also held demonstration viewings as part of its ATSC 3.0 test broadcasts. The 2018 Winter Olympics were used to showcase 5G wireless technologies, as part of a collaboration between domestic wireless sponsor KT, and worldwide sponsor
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
. Several venues were outfitted with 5G networks to facilitate features such as live camera feeds from bobsleds, and multi-camera views from cross-country and figure skating events. These were offered as part of public demonstrations coordinated by the two sponsors. The winners of the Olympic Golden Rings Awards were announced in June 2019. There were 75 pieces of broadcast content from the 2018 Olympics submitted over ten categories (plus one category for the 2018 Youth Olympics). NBC won a total of eight awards, winning four of the main categories: Best Olympic Feature, Best Olympic Digital Service, Best Olympic program and Best Documentary Film; they came second in the Best On-Air Promotion and Best Social Media Content/Production categories. Discovery/Eurosport won four categories: Best On-Air Promotion, Best Production Design, Best Innovation and Best Social Media Content/Production; they also came second in the Best Olympic Digital Service category. The BBC and NHK took the other two main awards: Most Sustainable Operation and Best Athlete Profile respectively. The title of Best Feature at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 was also awarded to the BBC.


Marketing

The official emblem, reflecting ice crystals and derived from the
hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
letters and —the initial sounds of "Pyeong" and "Chang"—was unveiled on 3 May 2013. In all official materials, the name of the host city was stylized in
CamelCase Camel case (sometimes stylized as camelCase or CamelCase, also known as camel caps or more formally as medial capitals) is the practice of writing phrases without spaces or punctuation. The format indicates the separation of words with a single ...
as "PyeongChang", in order to alleviate potential confusion with
Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
, the similarly named capital of neighboring
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. New international sponsorship deals also debuted in Pyeongchang:
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
was introduced as the new "Mobility" sponsor of the Olympics, although the company waived its domestic sponsorship to the local competitors
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...
and
Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
due to their support of the Pyeongchang bid. Alibaba Group and
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
also debuted as e-commerce/cloud services and technology sponsors respectively.


Concerns and controversies


North–South Korean relations

Due to the state of relations between
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and South Korea, concerns were raised over the security of the 2018 Winter Olympics, especially in the wake of tensions over North Korean missile and nuclear tests. On 20 September 2017, South Korean president
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
stated that the country would ensure the security of the Games. The next day,
Laura Flessel-Colovic Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and épée fencer who served as Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won the most Olympic medals of any French sportswoman, wit ...
, the French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, stated that France would pull out of the Games if the safety of its delegation could not be guaranteed. The next day, Austria and Germany raised similar concerns and also threatened to skip the Games. France later reaffirmed its participation. In early December 2017, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
that it was an "open question" whether the United States was going to participate in the Games, citing security concerns in the region. However, days later the White House Press Secretary,
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...
, stated that the United States would participate. In his New Year's address on 1 January 2018, North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
proposed talks in Seoul over the country's participation in the Games, which would be the first high-level talks between the North and South in over two years. Because of the talks, held on 9 January, North Korea agreed to field athletes in Pyeongchang. On 17 January 2018, it was announced that North and South Korea had agreed to field a unified Korean women's ice hockey team at the Games, and to enter together under a Korean Unification Flag during the opening ceremony. These moves were met with opposition in South Korea, including protests and online petitions; critics argued that the government was attempting to use the Olympics to spread pro-North Korean sentiment, and that the unified ice hockey team would fail. A
rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
video entitled "The Regret for Pyeongchang" (평창유감), which echoed this criticism and called the event the "
Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
Olympics", went viral in the country. Japan's foreign affairs minister
Tarō Kōno is a Japanese politician serving as the Minister of Digital Affairs of Japan since August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he previously served as Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform from 2015 to 2016 and fro ...
warned South Korea to be wary of North Korea's " charm offensive", and not to ease its pressure on the country. The South Korean President,
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
, at the start of the Olympics shook hands with
Kim Yo-jong Kim Yo-jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat serving as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK. She also served as an alternate membe ...
, the sister of North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
and a prominent figure of the regime. This marked the first time since the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
that a member of the ruling Kim dynasty had visited South Korea. In contrast, U.S. vice president
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
met with Fred Warmbier (father of
Otto Warmbier Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion. In June 2017, he was released by North Korea in a vegetative state and died ...
, who had died after being released from captivity in North Korea) and a group of
North Korean defector Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...
s in Pyeongchang. American officials said that North Korea cancelled a meeting with Pence at the last minute. At the closing ceremony, North Korea sent general
Kim Yong-chol Kim Yong-chol (; born 1946) is a North Korean general and politician who currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea for South Korean affairs and head of the United Front Department. From February ...
as its delegate. His presence was met with hostility from South Korean conservatives, as there were allegations that he had a role in the ROKS ''Cheonan'' sinking and other past attacks. The
Ministry of Unification The Ministry of Unification is an executive department of the South Korean government aimed at promoting Korean reunification. It was first established in 1969 as the ''National Unification Board'', under the rule of Park Chung-hee. It gained its ...
stated that "there is a limitation in pinpointing who was responsible for the incident." Although he is subject to sanctions, they did not affect his ability to visit the country for the Games.


Russian doping

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics was affected by the aftermath of its state-sponsored doping program. As a result, the
IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
suspended the
Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий ...
in December 2017, although Russian athletes
whitelist A whitelist, allowlist, or passlist is a mechanism which explicitly allows some identified entities to access a particular privilege, service, mobility, or recognition i.e. it is a list of things allowed when everything is denied by default. It is ...
ed by the IOC were allowed to compete neutrally under the OAR ( Olympic Athletes from Russia) designation. The official sanctions imposed by the IOC included: the exclusion of Russian government officials from the Games; the use of the Olympic flag and
Olympic Anthem The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...
in place of the Russian flag and anthem; and the submission of a replacement logo for the OAR uniforms. By early January 2018, the IOC had banned 43 Russian athletes from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics and all future Olympic Games (as part of the
Oswald Commission The Oswald Commission was a disciplinary commission of the International Olympic Committee ("IOC"), chaired by IOC member Denis Oswald. It was responsible for investigating and ruling on doping violations by individual Russian athletes at the 2014 ...
). Of those athletes, 42 appealed against their bans to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
(CAS) and 28 of the appeals were successful, but eleven of the athletes had their sanctions upheld due to the weight of evidence against them. The IOC found it important to note that CAS Secretary General "insisted that the CAS decision does not mean that these 28 athletes are innocent" and that they would consider an appeal against the court's decision. Hearings for the remaining three athletes were postponed. The eventual number of neutral Russian athletes that participated at the 2018 Games was 168. These were selected from an original pool of 500 athletes that was put forward for consideration and, in order to receive an invitation to the Games, they were obliged to meet a number of pre-games conditions. Two athletes, who met the conditions and were cleared by the IOC, subsequently failed drug tests during the Games.
Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and other officials had signalled in the past that it would be a humiliation if Russian athletes were not allowed to compete under the Russian flag. However, there were never actually any official plans to boycott the 2018 Games and in late 2017 the Russian government agreed to allow their athletes to compete at the Games as individuals under a neutral designation. Despite this public show of co-operation, there were numerous misgivings voiced by leading Russian politicians, including a statement from Putin himself saying that he believed the United States had used its influence within the IOC to "orchestrate the doping scandal". 86% of the Russian population opposed participation at the Olympics under a neutral flag, and many Russian fans attended the Games wearing the Russian colors and chanting "Russia!" in unison, in an act of defiance against the ban. The IOC's decision was heavily criticized by Jack Robertson, primary investigator of the Russian doping program on behalf of the
World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
(WADA), in whose opinion the judgement was commercially and politically motivated. He argued that not only was doping rife among Russian athletes but that there was no sign of it being eradicated. The CAS decision to overturn the life bans of 28 Russian athletes and restore their medals was also fiercely criticized, by Olympic officials,
IOC president The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...
Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...
and whistleblower
Grigory Rodchenkov Grigory Mikhailovich Rodchenkov (russian: Григорий Михайлович Родченков; born 24 October 1958) is the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, the ''Anti-Doping Center''. Rodchenkov is known for his i ...
's lawyer.


See also

* Soohorang and Bandabi


Notes


References


External links

*
Pyeongchang 2018
{{Authority control
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
Olympic Games in South Korea Sport in Gangneung Sport in Pyeongchang County Winter Olympics by year Winter sports competitions in South Korea