(ATR) The countdown to the 2018 Winter Games is on.
PyeongChang 2018 launched its one year to go countdown with a ceremony in the Gangneung Ice Arena. Traditional and contemporary Korean music were on display, along with motifs of winter pleasure.
Thomas Bach formally invited the world’s NOCs to come to PyeongChang via video, and IOC Coordination Commission chair Gunilla Lindberg spoke.
More importantly, members of the interim national government emphatically spoke in support of the Games. Acting Korean President Hwang Kyo Ahn called the event a "meaningful occasion where we can envisage the upcoming Winter Olympics." National Assembly leader Chung Sye Kyun said PyeongChang 2018 will "restore [Korea’s] national pride."
Korean skating superstar Yuna Kim attended the ceremony to formally present the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Torch to the public. Kim is a PyeongChang 2018 ambassador.
Click here to view a photodesk from the event.
Written by Aaron Bauer in Gangneung, South Korea.
Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.
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