Gangwon 2024: 30 things to know about Asia’s first Winter Youth Olympic Games
With just days to go until the start of Gangwon 2024, on 19 January 2024, we take a look at 30 useful things for you to know about the event, including dates, events, schedules, and ambassador Eileen Gu's words of wisdom.
The Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 begin on 19 January 2024!
Ahead of competition starting, we have collected 30 key things to know about Asia's first Winter YOG.
From the new events on show to the story behind Moongcho the mascot, the legacy of the Winter Olympic Games PyeongChang 2018 and the top athletes to watch out for, we have got you covered.
Below, we will also take a look at how you can follow all the action on the Olympic Channel via. Olympics.com and on the official Olympics app.
1 - Gangwon 2024 dates
The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to take place on 19 January 2024, with the Closing Ceremony on 1 February 2024.
2 - Gangwon 2024 Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony is set to take place at Gangneung Oval and PyeongChang Dome simultaneously. K-pop stars and other cultural performers will be on hand to provide some first-class entertainment.
The ceremony will also see the athletes marching into the stadium and conclusion of the Gangwon 2024 Torch Tour, which will culminate in the lighting of the Youth Olympic cauldron.
3 - Gangwon 2024 schedule
Don't miss out on any of the action, whether you are watching in person, or following the action from around the world. With exciting venues stretching from the mountains to the coast, click this link to find download the Games' schedule now.
4 - Disciplines
There will be gender equality with 15 disciplines across seven sports at the Gangwon 2024 YOG including: biathlon, bobsleigh (including skeleton), curling, ice hockey, luge, skating (including figure skating, short track, and speed skating), and skiing (including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and snowboard).
5 - New events
For the first time ever at a Winter YOG, there will be no mixed National Olympic Committee (NOC) events, as they will be replaced by equivalent events of the same or a similar format with teams of athletes from the same NOCs.
In addition, there will be two new 1,500m short track speed skating events in Gangwon, while there will be a new mixed-gender relay to replace the mixed NOC relay in cross-country.
A mixed team Nordic combined competition will also make its debut, while freestyle skiing will have an increase from eight to 12 events.
6 - Venues
Outdoor mountain events at Gangwon 2024 will be hosted at the Alpensia Sports Park in PyeongChang, while the indoor ice events will take place in the nearby city of Gangneung - both in the province of Gangwon.
Ski jumping and Nordic combined will be staged at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre. Biathlon, cross-country skiing, and the sliding sports of luge, bobsleigh, and skeleton will also take place in the Alpensia Sports Park.
The nearby coastal Gangneung Olympic Park will have four indoor sports venues, including the Hockey Centre, Curling Centre, the Gangneung Oval for speed skating, and the Ice Arena for short track speed skating and figure skating.
Snowboarding big air and alpine skiing will be staged in Welli Hilli Ski Resort and Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort respectively.
7 - Ticketing information
Tickets will be free of charge for all events, except the Opening Ceremony in Gangneung.
Fans will be able to secure tickets for their favourite winter sports by visiting tickets.gangwon 2024.org.
8 - Legacy
Gangwon 2024 will heavily rely on pre-existing venues and green transport infrastructure built for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
Hosts Republic of Korea may even celebrate a medallist from increased sports participation! Click here to find out more about the legacy PyeongChang 2018.
9 - Making history
Gangwon 2024 will be the first Winter YOG to be held in Asia.
The event will aso feature a record number of participants with 1,900 competitors taking part in Republic of Korea, up from 1,788 at Lausanne 2020.
As with the previous Games, there will be a 50/50 split between male and female competitors.
10 - Moongcho the mascot
Moongcho's name is derived from the Korean word “Moongchida,” which means to bring together various thoughts and powers.
Born of a snowball used in a snowball fight between PyeongChang 2018 mascots Soohorang and Bandabi, it represents the youth uniting and growing together through the YOG.
For more information on Moongcho and how it was created by the youth of the Republic of Korea, click here.
11 - Star ambassadors from Republic of Korea
A host of sporting and cultural icons have signed up as ambassadors for Gangwon 2024, in order to spread the Olympic values and inspire the young athletes.
Some of the Republic of Korea stars involved include Yun Sung-bin, Choi Min-jeong, and Yuna Kim, Olympic champions in skeleton, short track speed skating, and figure skating respecitively.
12 - Eileen Gu
Another Gangwon amabassador is multiple Olympic and Youth Olympic champion freeskier Eileen Gu.
The People's Republic of China star told Olympics.com that Gangwon 2024 'aligns perfectly with the message I hope to spread to young people worldwide: Sport is for everyone, regardless of gender, age, ability, geographic location, and religion'.
You can read more on her appointment here.
13 - Olympic Friends
Republic of Korea's diverse culture will be represented in part by actor Lee Dong-wook and SHINee K-pop singer Minho, who were also appointed as 'Olympic Friends' by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The duo will serve as honorary volunteers and torch bearers, and you can read more about that here.
14 - Stars to watch
Some future Olympic stars will undoubtedly be competing at Gangwon 2024, and here are just some of the names to watch out for:
- Naoki Rossi (Switzerland), figure skating
- Shin Ji-a (Republic of Korea), figure skating
- Shimada Mao (Japan), figure skating
- Miha Oserban (Slovenia), alpine skiing
- Annika Hunt (USA), alpine skiing
- Flora Tabanelli (Italy), freestyle skiing
- Lucia Georgalli (New Zealand), snowboard
- Lee Chae-un (Republic of Korea), snowboard
- Choi Ga-on (Republic of Korea), snowboard
You can read more about those athletes here.
15 - Athletes with familiar names
Also keep an eye out for Lara Colturi, the daughter of Italian Olympic gold medallist Daniela Ceccarelli competing for Albania in alpine skiing.
Elsewhere, Estonia’s Henry Sildaru, the brother of Beijing 2022 Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Sildaru, is one of the freestyle skiing favourites, while Murase Yura of Japan, the younger sister of Murase Kokomo who won big air bronze at Beijing 2022, is competing in freestyle snowboarding.
Read more: Meet Lara Colturi!
16 - Diversity at Gangwon 2024
Every edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games sees increasing amounts of competitors from non-traditional winter sports nations, and there will be another diverse athlete-base at Gangwon 2024.
For example, Thailand's Sunita Chaiyapantho and Thiraphat Sata told Olympics.com how luge has changed their lives.
Elsewhere, there will be athletes from Brazil, Israel, Nigeria, Philippines and Qatar.
17 - Medal design
Brazilian artist Dante Akira Uwai won the Gangwon 2024 medal design competition, which received over 3000 entries.
His creation 'A sparkling Future' features geometric shining shapes, symbolising how a diverse group of people will come together to shine.
18 - Gangwon 2024 motto
The official slogan and vision for the event is "Grow together, shine forever," which was slected after feedback from "a diverse group of people of different genders, ages and countries of residence," according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and event organisers.
19 - Gangwon 2024 song
Another contest, this time targeting young people aged 14-24 in Republic of Korea, was held to to create Gangwon 2024’s official theme song.
Entitled “We Go High”, Kim Geun-Hak’s winning tune encourages young people to believe in themselves and chase their dreams at the YOG, as well the peaceful future they are all helping to create.
"Go ahead and open the door so you can dream, feel my heart that keeps trembling.
Listen to yourself, your unshakable promise, and our passion.
"Don't be afraid. Don't hesitate.
"Go achieve. Make it all yours. Show the fruits of your work.
"Let’s fly higher like stars, higher than the sun.
Grow together shine forever, We shine when we are together.”
20 - Previous YOG stars to become Olympic gold medallists
Previous Winter Youth Olympic Games champions that have gone on to become Olympic gold medallists include Eileen Gu, USA snowboarder Chloe Kim, Slovakian alpine skier Petra Vlhova, and Norweigian freestyle skier Birk Ruud.
21 - How to watch the action at Gangwon 2024
The Winter Youth Olympic Games will be filmed for live television and digital streaming on Olympic Channel via. Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices, with full session replays and highlights also available.
22 - How to watch figure skating
Figure skating will be one of the most popular events in Republic of Korea, with the host nation boasting some of the finest skaters ever, like Olympic champion Yuna Kim.
Click here to see which youngsters are set to star on the ice at Gangwon 2024.
23 - How to watch short track speed skating
Another hugely popular discipline in Republic of Korea is short track speed skating, with the Asian nation having won 26 Olympic gold medals to date.
Click here to see which local and global athletes to watch in short track at Gangwon 2024.
24 - How to watch alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is one of the most keenly-anticipated sports at any Winter Olympic event, and Gangwon2024 will be no different.
The competition will take place at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort, and all the information you need to know about the competition is here.
25 - Wise words from Eve Muirhead
The ambassadors won't be the only figures providing inspiration for the young athletes at Gangwon 2024.
Team GB are lucky enough to call upon the experience of curling Olympic champion Eve Muirhead, as their Chef de Mission, while Team Canada will be led by double Olympic curler Lisa Weagle.
Scottish-born Muirhead spoke to Olympics.com about the importance of good leadership, and you can read that interview here.
26 - Celebrating K-pop
K-pop music is one of Republic of Korea's best-known exports around the world.
As such, K-pop bands Itzy and RIIZE both performed at the 100 Days to Go concert on 11 October, which kicked off the Gangwon 2024 Torch Tour - an 80-day odyssey across the host nation. B-girl dancer Kim Yeri also performed with her crew.
27 - Republic of Korea champions steering Gangwon 2024
Four-time shooting Olympic champion Jin Jong-Oh and two-time Olympic gold medallist in speed skating, Lee Sang-Hwa, were unveiled as co-heads of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics on 21 February 2023.
They are working alongside vice-chairs Ryu Seung-Min, the Athens 2004 table tennis gold medallist, ad You Byong-Jin, Vice-president of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee.
28 - Volunteer power
Over 2000 volunteers have been recruited to help Gangwon 2024 run smoothly across the four competition zones. They are aged 15 and over, depending on their function.
29 - Repurposed facilities
Where possible, Gangwon 2024 are using existing infrastructure.
Another example of this comes with the usage of Gangneung Yeongdong University, which will be used for housing 800 operational staff in the student accommodation bildings, while its short track speed skating practice facility will be used for Opening and Closing Ceremony rehersals.
30 - Youth empowerment
The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games organisers are aiming to leave a lasting legacy for young people in Republic of Korea.
The Organising Committee launched a Youth Supporters initiative, which saw 30 young people selected to work with the body to promote the Games on International Youth Day.
Youthful creativity will be at the forefront of the Games, with the medals, mascot, song and choreography all having been developed through extensive collaboration with young people.