NEWS

25 Jan 2018

WINTER OLYMPICS 2018 – ATHLETES VILLAGES READY TO GREET PARTICIPANTS

Categories: Misc.

25 January 2018

With the PyeongChang Winter Olympics just around the corner, organizers said today the two athletes’ villages are ready to greet participants, with visitors expected to start moving in this week.

While official welcoming ceremonies will start on Feb. 1, advance teams from different countries will move to the villages starting Friday, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games said.

South Korea prepared two villages for the 2018 Winter Games, with the PyeongChang Village serving athletes performing at snow events in the host town of PyeongChang, located 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and nearby Jeongseon. The PyeongChang Village has eight 15-story buildings, which amounts to 600 units.

Athletes performing in ice events such as hockey and skating will be accommodated in the Gangneung Olympic Village, east of PyeongChang. It has nine 25-story buildings, or 922 units.

Athletes will be allowed to take the blankets in their rooms back home as gifts. The special blankets are inscribed with pictograms of different winter sports.

“We have prepared 3,300 blankets for the PyeongChang Village, and 2,600 for the Gangneung Village,” an official from the committee said, adding that each costs around 70,000 won (US $65.80).

The villages will have various facilities for athletes, including banks, post offices, convenience stores, laundry rooms, gyms and religious centers.

The committee is also planning to host various cultural events, including dance performances, to entertain athletes during their stay.