The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games closes on Feb. 1 after 14 days of events and competition. This scene is from the opening ceremony on Jan. 19 at the Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province. (Olympic Information Services of International Olympic Committee)
By Xu Aiying
The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (Gangwon 2024) on Feb. 1 ends its 14-day run.
The tournament’s organizing committee said the closing ceremony will be held from 8 p.m. at the open plaza next to Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province.
The ceremony’s theme “Shine Again” conveys the message to youth athletes around the world that they should again shine their “inner light” that they discovered.
At 7:30 p.m., DJ K.hertz will hold a pre-ceremony performance and youth athletes who competed in the Games will enter the venue while greeted by volunteer workers. The official ceremony begins at 8 p.m.
The ceremony will feature video highlights from Gangwon 2024, the entry and hanging of the national flag Taegeukgi, and parade of the national team of each participating country. Next is a hashtag video of athletes befriending each other and enjoying Korean culture outside of competition venues, plus congratulatory performances by rapper Lee Young Ji and the dance team 1Million.
To thank the tournament’s volunteer workers, six athletes representing their respective continents will give wreathes to six selected volunteers, followed by greetings from Choi Jong-gu, co-president of the organizing committee, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The closing ceremony will end by extinguishing the Olympic torch. When the tournament’s mascot Moongcho sprinkles snow powder on the torch, a video will show snow falling and the flame on the digital torch going out.
As the first Youth Winter Olympics held in Asia, Gangwon 2024 had a combined 1,802 athletes from 78 countries take part. Over the 14-day period, the competitors vied in 81 events and took part in a youth cultural gala uniting people through culture and sports through events like culture and arts performances and the K-Culture Festival.
xuaiy@korea.kr
