Gangwon 2024 Opening Ceremony: All the highlights as the Youth Olympic Games get underway
The Youth Olympic Flame was lit on Friday in a spectacular Opening Ceremony that celebrated the past, present and future of sport. Watch the full show on Olympics.com.
The Opening Ceremony of the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games took place on Friday (19 January), live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Want to know more about the event and the performances involved? We'll be providing updates right here throughout the evening from Gangwon 2024.
Gangwon 2024 mascot Moongcho welcomes Team Turkey to the Gangneung Oval.
21:40 - Let the Games begin!
Astronauts, school students, and skaters dressed to look like they are wearing snowballs and ice – who were your favourite characters at the Opening Ceremony of Gangwon 2024?
We loved them all. But if we have to choose, Moongcho is still our No.1.
Get to know the Games mascot here and join him on a whirlwind tour of 15 winter sports over the next 13 competition days. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games are officially open!
21:25 – Get ready, set, dance
They may be known for their skills on skates and skis and sleds, but turns out these Youth Olympians have impressive moves on the dance floor as well.
The athletes are out to mingle with the performers as the Opening Ceremony wraps up with one big dance huddle – complete with giant balloons bouncing overhead.
LUN8 performed at the Opening Ceremony.
21:20 – Party Gangwon style
What’s a ceremony without a party? Put on your sunglasses and leather, and slather on some glitter – the freshest voices of K-pop are here to entertain.
Boy band LUN8 perform their hits “Playground” and “Wild Heart”, with tripleS, Ash Island and Changmo keeping the energy going.
21:10 – The Youth Olympic Flame is lit!
Winter sport legends and future stars bring the flame into the stadium to light the cauldron.
The torch is passed down among four torchbeares until it reaches the youngest of them, Lee Jeongmin. The 17-year-old will compete in the ski cross event on Tuesday 23 January.
The circle – a Rising Sun - represents a world that has no ranks and where everyone is united.
The Gangwon 2024 is in the shape of the Rising Sun and represents a world without ranks.
20:55 – A master class on making a statement
Who needs a red carpet when you have ice and a Zamboni?
Rappers Y2K92 glide into the Gangneung Oval in style while perfectly delivering their lines.
Now that’s an entrance.
Rappers Y2K92 arrive to the Gangwon 2024 Opening Ceremony in style.
20:40 – A time to make history
Tunisia is also making its first Winter Youth Olympic or Winter Olympic appearance.
We caught up with the country’s history-making bobsleigh team earlier in the week.
“In the beginning my family didn't even know what bobsleigh is,” women's monobob competitor Sophie Ghorbal told us. “No one knows bobsleigh and winter sport in Tunisia. I introduced the sport and the culture to our country. It's great to have new opportunities for a country that doesn't have any snow, and that is in North Africa.”
Read more about them here, or watch the video below!
20:30 – Like a wavin’ flag
The flagbearers – two for each country, a male and a female where possible – are making their way into the Gangneung Oval.
Five nations are making their Winter Youth Olympic Games here in Gangwon: Algeria, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
Snowboarder Amenah Almuhairi and alpine skier Alexander Astridge, are not only UAE's first Winter Youth Olympians, but also the country's first athletes at any Winter Olympic event.
20:15 - The flame is in the house
The Olympic Flame is carried into the Gangneung Oval and PyeongChang Dome, followed by the host nation’s flag.
How many Olympic medallists and sport history-makers can you recognise among the six national flagbearers?
There is the first individual world medallist in biathlon from the Republic of Korea, Kim Yonggyu and speed skater Lee Kangseok, the second Korean athlete to win an Olympic Winter Games medal in a discipline that was not short track speed skating, as well as youth talents Seo Hwimin and Lee Haein.
20:00 - And we’re on!
In a nod to Korean youth, we start off with a choreographed dance set in a classroom. Is anyone else getting some nostalgic vibes from this EXO number at PyeongChang 2018?
19:45 - Celebrate sports and Korean culture
The Opening Ceremony will be held at the Gangneung Oval and the PyeongChang Dome at the same time, and will feature about 300 performers, including several K-pop bands.
We went around the Gangwon venues to get a taste of the buzz ahead of the Games opener. Check it out below.
19:30 - Just 30 minutes to go!
We are less than an hour away from the ceremony. It begins at 8pm Korea Standard Time (KST).
With K-pop stars headlining the show at the Gangneung Oval, and the world’s best young winter sports competitors set to make an entrance in the Athletes' Parade, this promises to be a spectacle unlike any other.
Watch the Ceremony from the Gangneung Oval live on Olympics.com. Live coverage of the Ceremony begins at 19:55 Korea Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9 hours). Tune in to the livestream on Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.