This year the Olympic Winter Games will be
held in Pyeongchang, South Korea and they will be from 9th to 25th of February.
The elected host city was announced on 6th July 2011 by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC), receiving more votes than Munich, Germany and Annecy, France combined.
This will be the second time that South Korea will host Olympic Games after the
summer games in 1988. The previous Olympic Winter Games edition took place in
Sochi, Russia, while the next is going to take place in Beijing, China.
90 nations are going to participate in 15
disciplines: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling,
figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short track
speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating.
RUSSIAN SCANDAL
On 5th December 2017 it was announced that the
Russian Olympic Committee was suspended due to a doping scandal. Individual
athletes who can demonstrate they don’t have problems with doping will be
allowed to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia”, under a neutral flag.
In the past, Vladimir Putin, the president
of Russia, had said that it would be a humiliation for Russia if its athletes
were not allowed to compete under the Russian flag. On 6th December he said that the Russian government
would not prevent any athlete from participating at the Games as individuals,
but there were calls from other politicians for a boycott.
TICKETS
Tickets’ prices for the 2018 Winter
Olympics went on sale in October 2016, ranging from US $ 17 to US $ 776.
Instead, tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Pyeongchang
Olympic Stadium range from US $ 190 to US $1293.
MASCOTS
The official mascots for the Games,
Soohorang, a white tiger, and Bandabi, an Asiatic black bear, where unveiled on
2 June 2016.
BROADCASTING RIGHTS
In some countries broadcast rights were
sold to SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System). In the United States of America the
Games will be broadcast by NBC under a long-term contract with NBC Universal.
In Europe, Discovery Communications had acquired exclusive rights and it will
not serve solely as a reseller, as it intends to carry coverage on its regional
properties, such as Eurosport and DMAX.
We will watch this event on TV and we will
support Italian athletes. What about you? Do you like winter sports? Will you
watch the event this year? Let us know in your comments!
ALEX T. & GABRIELE
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