Gangwon 2024 to close with celebration of athletic feats
The fourth Winter Youth Olympics will draw to a conclusion in eastern Korea on Thursday with a celebration of feats accomplished by teenage athletes over the past two weeks.
Organizers of the Gangwon Winter Youth Games said Tuesday that the closing ceremony will get under way at 8 p.m. Thursday under the theme, “Shine Again.”
It’s a nod to the motto of the competition, “Grow Together, Shine Forever.”
“The closing ceremony will be about allowing young athletes to reignite their inner light that they discovered during this event,” Gangwon’s organizing committee said in a statement. “It will signal a time to return to their home countries with bright light inside everyone.”
The open plaza in front of Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, some 160 kilometers east of Seoul, will provide the stage for the closing ceremony, scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. Thursday.
A local DJ, K.hertz, will have a preshow beginning at 7:30 p.m., with volunteers welcoming athletes to the main event.
The highlight video of the 14-day competition will be shown on the main screen, and rapper Lee Young-ji and dancing group 1Million will perform in front of the athletes and spectators.
Also during the closing ceremony, three female and three male athletes from each continent and each sport will represent all athletes in thanking the volunteers for their services.
The organizing committee said it expects to have some 1,700 people on hand for the closing ceremony
Gangwon 2024 is the first Winter Youth Olympics held outside Europe, after Austria, Norway and Switzerland hosted the first three.
With 1,802 athletes from 78 countries in action, this was also the largest Winter Youth Games ever.
The closing ceremony will be about allowing young athletes to reignite their
inner light that they discovered
during this event.