COLD IS GAMES’ TOP CONCERN
Not even North Korea generating same buzz as wintry weather
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea— With only three days to go until the opening ceremony of the 2018Winter Olympics, it’s safe to say that in and around the mountains that are the heart and soul of these Games, there’s more conversation about the weather than about North Korea.
This might be hard to believe, but it’s true. Those who already have arrived for the Olympics are worried more about the frigid temperatures, especially for the opening ceremony and other outdoor events, than South Korea’s unpredictable neighbor 50 miles to the north.
While politics can and likely still will play a significant role in the story of these Games, for the first time in 24 years, theWinter Olympics have come to a place where it’s actually winter.
Single- digit temperatures gradually nudge higher when the sun comes out, only to plunge again later. A brutal, biting wind whistles day and night. Everyone is bundled up nearly beyond recognition to guard against the frostbite that descended on some poor souls who attended recent outdoor events in the region.
The last time aWinter Games felt this wintry was the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Since then, the Games of ice and snow have persevered in temperate or unexpectedly warm climates, from Nagano to Salt Lake City to Turin to Vancouver to Sochi.
Now, though, they’ve found a home in a quaint ski village reminiscent ofWinter Olympics long ago, names out of the history books: Lake Placid, Squaw Valley, Grenoble and St. Moritz.
This step back in time, though, can be disarming. You arrive at the media center expecting a fortress cordoned off by acres of fencing and guarded by hundreds of wellarmed security officers.
When the car in which you’re riding drives literally to the front door of the facility to drop you off, and when you’ve walked through themetal detectors and had your bags scanned aminute later, you almost can’t believe this is the Olympics. There is security, to be sure, but the foreboding perimeter that has become a staple at every recent Olympics— the fencing that required walks of 20 to 30 minutes just to find a way in— is missing.
In three days here, I still have not seen a gun. I’m sure they exist, but those who are working at the security checkpoints I’ve been through give the impression they are welcoming you to the theater, not to an armed camp. There’s something appealing about that.
This is the scene in the mountains, in this town of less than 50,000, the smallest city to host an Olympic Games— summer or winter— since Lillehammer. A half- hour away lies Gangneung, a city of 213,000 on the east coast of South Korea, which will host the skating events. This is not unusual for a Games to be shared by neighboring cities and regions. In fact, it’s unusual these days if it isn’t.
As the start of these Olympics approaches, there are concerns about attendance, with some who live in Seoul reporting that none of their friends are talking yet about making the trek into the mountains. There is a worry that despite the raw cold, there has been little snow.
And there always will be a nervous eye cast on North Korea, South Korea’s enemy- turnedsports partner, at least in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony and on the ice for women’s hockey.
But think for a moment about what we’re not talking about here— if the venues, roads and buildings all will be finished on time, if the buses and trains will run as scheduled, if South Korea is ready.
Oh, South Korea is ready. All you have to do is land at Incheon Airport and glide through the glistening terminal, a passageway of efficiency, on your way to a region that is nothing if not prepared for its turn in the spotlight.