The numbers behind Gangwon 2024’s Winter Youth Olympic Games
As Gangwon 2024 draws to a close, we take a look at some of the key numbers behind the success of the 4th edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Following 14 spectacular days of competition, the Winter YOG Gangwon 2024 officially came to an end on Thursday evening with a Closing Ceremony in Gangneung Olympic Park.
Featuring performances from Korean rapper Young-ji Lee and dance group 1MILLION, the ceremony showcased some of the most memorable moments of the Games and brought the young athletes together for one final celebration before the Olympic flag was lowered and the Youth Olympic cauldron was extinguished.
The Closing Ceremony provided a finale for a superb Winter YOG, which saw 1,800 athletes from 78 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competing in 15 disciplines across seven different sports.
A total of 81 medal events were held at nine competition venues in Gangneung, PyeongChang, Hoengseong and Jeongseon, making use of seven of the 12 facilities that were used for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
The athletes were supported by enthusiastic crowds in every venue, with more than 270,000 spectators, while those attending the Games could also enjoy the extensive programme of cultural and sport activities on offer through the Let’s Play Winter Festival, with which approximately 230,000 people engaged.
And behind the scenes, approximately 20,000 accredited people helped contribute to the success of the YOG, including 1,984 helpful volunteers, 627 members of the media and 289 broadcast personnel.
The strong interest in the event, both locally and globally, was illustrated by the widespread coverage of the Games, with events airing in 199 countries around the world – compared with 191 for the Winter YOG Lausanne 2020. In total, more than 170 hours of live coverage were produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). Gangwon 2024 also proved to be a huge hit on social media, with posts across the official Olympic platforms garnering over 300 million engagements.
A survey found that 75 per cent of the Korean people were aware of the event, more than 80 per cent with a positive view. Over four million Koreans tuned in to the live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on KBS1, a channel of the Media Rights-Holder in Korea.
The athletes enjoyed the sport and the learning experiences the Games have offered to them. Ninety-three per cent of the 1,800 participants have taken part in at least one of the learning experiences.