2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang

Fans of sports competitions do not have to wait long, because the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang will be held on February 9-25. Athletes from different countries will participate, demonstrating achievements in 7 sports, 15 disciplines.

The 23rd Winter Olympics in 2018 in Pyeongchang (South Korea) in 2018 promises to be exciting and attract a huge number of visitors.

Date - from February 9 to February 25, 2018.

Interestingly, the first applications for the games were submitted on October 15, 2009. Pyeongchang was approved as the venue for the Games on July 6, 2011.

As the capital of the Games, they decided to try the strength of 3 cities. One of them is Munich, Germany. Here the Summer Olympic Games were held back in 1972, more competition in Germany was not held. The second city from which the application for participation was received is Annecy, France. He first decided to try his luck at hosting the Games. The third city is Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. This was the third application from this city, which was satisfied.

More about the venue

Before traveling to Pyeongchang it is always interesting to find out why this city was chosen as the winter capital of the Games. The story is quite interesting. The hardworking city authorities applied for participation three times. In 2010, Vancouver, Canada won with a three-vote margin. In 2014, between Pyeongchang and Sochi, Russia, the difference was only 4 votes.

How to choose a city?

The defeats of previous years did not break the confidence of the South Korean government in victory. For the few years that remained until the next Olympiad, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out in the city, an excellent sports infrastructure was erected. In particular, appeared:

Ski jumping complex.
Luge Center.
Olympic park.
Ski slopes.
Biathlon.
Ski.

Many international competitions and championships have already been held here. All this positively affected the reputation of the city and in competition with Anse and Munich, the first place was given to Pyeongchang. The latter won by a wide margin - 63 votes for Pyeongchang and only 25 votes for Munich.

Video plot

How to get there

Pyeongchang is a county located in the central part of Gangwon-do province in northeast Korea. To come to Pyeongchang, you need to get to Seoul by plane. It is most beneficial to purchase tickets in advance. In this case, save money.

From Seoul to Pyeongchang can be reached by car. The fare is about 1200-1800 rubles, since a liter of gasoline in Korea will cost 84 rubles. At the same time, car rental will cost at least 3000-4000 rubles per day.

The second way is by bus. The road takes about 2-3 hours with no traffic jams. Ticket price varies in the range of 350-500 rubles. You can also use the services of the railway. It is currently under construction, but commissioning is planned for the near future. Ticket price is still unknown.

Olympics Symbol and Mascots

Sukhoran (white tiger) and Bandabi (bear from the Himalayas) are symbols of the 2018 Winter Olympics. These characters are one of the favorite in the country. The tiger is the protagonist of most Korean stories. Animal skin tone is associated with winter and snow. The authors are sure that he personifies the protection of participants in a sports show, inspires confidence in the Olympics.

Bandabi Bear became the mascot of the Paralympic Games, which will be held in Pyeongchang after the main ones. The emblem of the Olympiad is represented by a harmonious interweaving of two symbols. Snowflake is an indicator that the Winter Olympics. The first symbol is chosen so that it personifies the harmony between nature and people.

Sports at the Olympics 2018

The program presents 7 sports and 15 disciplines. An interesting feature that distinguishes the 2018 Winter Games from the 2014 Games is the introduction of auxiliary snowboard competitions, mass starts in speed skating and combined pairs in curling. On the contrary, they refused from parallel slalom.

Competitions will be held in the directions (sets of medals that will be played between the athletes are indicated in brackets):

Ski jumping, sledding (4 and 4).
Figure skating (5).
Ice skating (14).
Skiing (12).
Snowboard and freestyle (10 and 10).
Biathlon and skiing (11 and 11).
Northern combination, curling, bobsled (3).
Short Track (8).
Hockey and skeleton (2 and 2).

In total, 102 sets of medals will be played.

Approximate sequence and schedule of competitions

Everyone who plans to attend or watch the Olympics on television is interested in the schedule. It is too early to talk about the exact schedule, but an approximate one is presented in the table.

date of	Upcoming events
9.02.18	Grand opening
10.02.18	This day will be held competitions in skiing and short track. After 20:00 in the evening it will be possible to go to biathlon, speed skating competitions and look at the ski jumping athletes.
11.02.18	02/11 will hold competitions in skiing and snowboarding. In the afternoon, skiing, skating and sledding will be held. In the evening, freestyle and biathlon are planned.
12.02.18	In the morning there will be competitions among snowboarding and figure skating athletes. In the afternoon you can visit the skiing. In the evening, biathlon, freestyle, skiing and speed skating athletes will compete, as well as ski jumping from ski jumping.
13.02.18	In the morning snowboarding competitions will be held. In the afternoon - skiing. Luge and short tracks with a difference of half an hour will be held in the evening. Ice skating and skiing, as well as curling, will complete the competition on 13.02.
14.02.18	In the morning, athletes will compete on snowboards, in the afternoon, skiers. In the evening there will be ski biathlon and ice skating. Luge and biathlo will be the end of the sixth day of the games.
15.02.18	Before lunch, you can watch figure skating and skiers; after lunch, skiing and snowboarding will be shown again. The end will be sledding, biathlon, speed skating.
16.02.18	There will be an opportunity to cheer for athletes in such disciplines - bobsleigh, freestyle, snowboard, skiing and speed skating.
17.02.18	In the morning there will be competitions in alpine skiing, freestyle and figure skating. In the evening you can visit ski jumping competitions, short track, skiing, skeleton, biathlon.
18.02.18	After lunch, you will have the opportunity to go on a show of skiing, skiing, freestyle, biathlon, speed skating.
19.02.18	02/19 competitions will be only in the evening - ski jumping, speed skating, bobsledding.
20.02.18	This day there will be freestyle, biathlon, short track, Nordic combined and figure skating competitions.
21.02.18	On this day it will be possible to attend bobsled, ski, ski and speed skating competitions, freestyle.
22.02.18	Initially, freestyle competitions will take place, followed by skiing. After the break you can visit the biathlon, short track, hockey and biathlon.
23.02.18	In the morning you can wait for snowboarding and figure skating. After lunch, skiers and freestyle experts will compete. In the evening, biathletes, skaters and curlers will complete the program.
24.02.18	Morning 24.02 promises to be eventful - skiing, snowboarding in several categories. After lunch, you can go skiing, watch skaters and curling.
25.02.18	Bobsleigh, hockey and cross-country skiing will be the last competitions of the Olympiad. Closing the Olympics.

It is important to consider the time difference between countries. For example, between Moscow and Pyeongchang the difference is 6 hours. This should be taken into account when flying and when watching games in live mode.

The main sports facilities

The layout of the facilities erected for the Olympics resembles that of Sochi. In particular, the buildings were grouped around the tracks and masses of fans. The main place of erection is Alpenzia, which impresses with picturesque mountain landscapes.

The ski jumping park will be used as a place for opening; it is designed for 60 thousand spectators. The complex has ski jumps K-125 and K-95, which are prepared for the competition of double-event athletes and jumpers in accordance with international standards. The ski and biathlon center will host races of athletes of relevant sports. The room itself is designed for 27 thousand observers.

Luge center will be used for athletes in the field of skeleton, sleigh riders, bobsledders. The total number of potential visitors is 10 thousand. Ski competitions are planned to be held on the basis of Enphen. It is called Mecca - the most snowy place in Korea. At Chunbon Stadium there is an opportunity to admire athletes specializing in downhill skiing.

Another important sports venue is Gangneung. This is a coastal cluster where a hockey center has already been built. This is a temporary building, designed for 10 thousand fans. Architects tried to create the building, giving it the form of a snowdrift. Gangwon University will host matches for the group stage selection. Curling athletes will show skills on the ice rink. It is designed for 3 thousand people. For the shows of short-track professionals, skaters and skaters, free-standing indoor ice rinks have been prepared.

Video material

How and where to buy a ticket

Ticket reservation opened in January 2017. The price is more affordable than the 2014 Games. The most expensive pleasure is the opening and closing of the show. The cheapest tickets will cost 168 euros, and the most expensive - 1147 euros.

The cheapest tickets are sold for hockey matches to qualify for the tournament. In general, over 50% of all tickets will cost about 61 euros or even less for each. This, according to the organizers, will ensure the flow of fans both from Korea itself and from neighboring countries. The final hockey match will cost 229-689 euros, and figure skating competitions - 115-612 euros.

Tickets are sold on the pyeongchang2018.com official website or at local travel agencies.