2018 WINTER OLYMPICS
The 2018 Winter Olympics, known officially as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, are scheduled to take place from 9th to 25th February in PyeongChang, South Korea (with certain events taking place on 8th on 9th February before the opening ceremony).
The games will feature 102 events in seven sports with fifteen disciplines. Nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 nations will take part, including athletes from Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore for the first time.
SPORTS
The sports have changed since the winter games began. The first sports were: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined (a combination of the two), bobsleigh, figure skating, ice hockey, curling and speed skating. New sports have been added, such as luge and freestyle skiing. Others, such as skijoring (where a person on skis is pulled by a horse or a dog) have been demonstrated at the games, but never became Olympic sports. New events added to the programme this year include big air snowboarding, mass start speed skating, mixed doubles curling and mixed team alpine skiing. Click here to find out more about the individual sports.
MASCOT
Soohorang, the mascot of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, is a white tiger. 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 “Ho-rang-i”, the Korean word for “tiger,” and is also the last letter of a traditional folk song of Gangwon Province, where the Games will be 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.
OLYMPIC MOTTO
This year the motto is ‘Passion. Connected.’
MEDALS
Medals are designed especially for each Olympiad. They reflect the traditions and culture of the host nation. Their design was inspired by the texture of tree trunks, with the front bearing the Olympic rings and dynamic diagonal lines that reflect both the history of the Olympics and the determination of the participants. The reverse has the PyeongChang 2018 emblem, along with the discipline and event.
They are the work of South Korean designer Lee Suk-woo, who incorporated Hangeul – the Korean alphabet and the foundation of Korean culture – into their design through a series of consonants symbolising the effort of athletes from around the world, who come together to compete at PyeongChang 2018.
The ribbon from which the medal hangs is an equally important part of the design and has been created using gapsa, a traditional South Korean fabric. The light teal and light red ribbon from which the medals hang is embroidered with Hangeul patterns.
WINTER PARALYMPICS
The 2018 Paralympics or the XII Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 9th to 18th in PyeongChang, South Korea. There will be 80 medal events in 6 sports, with snowboarding as a separate discipline for the first time this year.
The 2018 Paralypic mascot is Bandabi. Bandabi is an Asiatic black bear, a bear native to the Korean peninsula. The bear is a symbol of strong will and courage.
WHEN DID THE WINTER OLYMPICS START?
The Winter Olympic Games is a major international event that takes place every four years. The first winter games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. The games were held regularly until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II, and resumed again in 1948.
The games were originally held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but in 1986 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to hold the summer and winter games in alternate even-numbered years; and following the 1992 games, the next Winter Olympics took place in 1994.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The Winter Olympic games have been hosted on three continents, but never in the southern hemisphere. The United States have hosted the games four times - more than any other nation.
Twelve countries, including Great Britain, have attended every Winter Olympic games since they began. Six of those (sadly, not including GB) have earned medals at every winter games, with Norway earning the most of all.