The opening ceremony of the

2018 Winter Paralympics ) , nations = 49 , athletes = 569 , events = 80 in 6 sports , opening = 9 March , closing = 18 March , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Eun-jung Seo Soon-seok , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic ...

took place at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea on March 9, 2018. at 20:00 KST

Preparations

The site of the opening ceremony, Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, was built specifically for the games. It seated 35,000. No Olympic or Paralympic events were held there. It was only used for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Proceedings

Parade of Nations

Competing countries entered the stadium in alphabetical order based on their names in the Korean language, with the host country, South Korea, concluding the march. Coincidentally similar to the Olympics, Greece enters at the start of the parade.

Dignitaries in attendance

* President of Korea Moon Jae-in and

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Kim Jung-Sook Kim Jung-sook ( ko, 김정숙; born 15 November 1954) is a South Korean Classical music, classical singer who served as first lady of South Korea from 2017 to 2022, as the wife of the 12th president of South Korea Moon Jae-in. Overview Kim' ...

* United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen

Anthems

* Korean Wheelchair Choir –

South Korean National Anthem South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

* Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra –

Paralympic Hymn The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games. Motto The Paralympic motto is "Spirit in Motion". The motto was introduced in 2004 at the Paralympic Games ...

References

Opening 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.