Olympic Opening Ceremony 2018: Live Updates, Highlights and Recap from PyeongChang
The XXIII Olympic Winter Games are officially open after a spectacular opening ceremony on Friday at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. In frigid temperatures, luger Erin Hamlin carried the flag for Team USA during an emotional event centered on themes of peace and harmony. Highlights included North and South Korea marching together as a unified group and a stunning lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by 2010 figure skating gold medalist Yuna Kim. All told, a record 102 gold medals will be presented over the next 17 days.
- February 9, 2018
- via Bleacher Report
With the time change, the ceremony will wrap up Friday night's activities in Pyeongchang.
Here in North America, event action will pick up again at 7 p.m. ET on Friday with curling, women's hockey and slopestyle qualifying.
A Powerful Ceremony Sets the Stage for the Next 17 Days.
- Invalid Date
- February 9, 2018
One final performance, the Wish Fire.
The contrast of fire and ice is powerful as a breakdancing team goes to work, sharp in red.
A spire rises, and the cauldron is lit!
Up top, on her skates, 2010 Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim!
Two Korean women's hockey players climb the final pathway to the cauldron.
One is from North Korea, the other from South Korea. They will play together in this tournament.
Serious cardio here—this is a lot of stairs!
The flame has arrived!
The final torchbearers make one last lap around the the stadium.
Now, the Olympic oath.
One athlete, one official and one coach take the oath on behalf of all participants.
Resplendent in white and gold, opera singer Hwang Su-mi performs the Olympic anthem.
Up next, the presentation of the Olympic flag, and anthem.
With that, the time travel for the children comes to an end.
They come back to the present, holding candles. Images of doves form as four singers perform John Lennon's "Imagine."
Now, the President of Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in, is declaring the Games officially open!
Up next, IOC president Thomas Bach.
Now 64 years old, Bach was a gold medalist in fencing back in Montreal in 1976.
Now, the speeches begin.
First up, Lee Hee-beom, president of the organizing committee.
The spectacle concludes with a tube of light reaching skyward.
It symbolizes a link connecting people and worlds—a step toward peace.
The children travel through a gate.
The world of technology is interconnected, but people are meant to exist harmoniously with each other.
The five children are back!
They're traveling the River of Time, which leads to the future.
The crowd goes wild!
The hosts from Korea are now entering the stadium.
North and South Korea are marching together. The two nations will also be competing as a single team in women's hockey.
Pita Taufatofua competed in taekwondo in Rio in 2016.
This time around, he'll be in the cross-country skiing competition.
There he is!
The Tongan flag bearer is shirtless and grass-skirted once again. Impressive!
Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir carry the flag ahead of a contingent of 225 athletes from Canada.
The Canadian figure skaters are expected to do very well, and lead the team competition after today's first day of competition.
A big contingent from China is followed by a large group from Czech Republic.
We're more than two-thirds of the way through the introduction of the athletes.
Once everyone's in, there will be more pageantry, then some speeches.
The Russian athletes are out in some numbers, despite their unusual circumstances.
No flags to wave, but they're using their cell phones to record the action like so many others.
Here's Great Britain.
They're led by the skeleton gold medalist from Sochi, Lizzy Yarnold.
Coming up soon, the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
They'll be marching under the Olympic flag, rather than that of their own nation.
Here's Team USA, marching in as Gangnam Style continues.
And Bermuda—brazenly rockin' the Bermuda shorts. Bold!
Gangnam Style!
This song was a global sensation a few years back.
This portion of the ceremony will last for nearly an hour.
The background music is a medley of Korean pop songs.
Here come the athletes!
These Games include 2,900 athletes and are led, true to tradition, by Greece.
North and South Korea will march together during the Parade of Athletes.
Right now—South Korea gets its moment in the spotlight, with the presentation of its flag and its national anthem, performed by a children's choir.
Now we're into a beautifully choreographed sequence.
It's choreographed around traditional Korean drumming, built off the image of the Korean flag.
The themes of today's ceremony are Harmony and Peace.
The story is centered around five children.
He's Ba-ack!
Here's What All the Fuss Is About.
Nice looking medals 🏅🏅
Olympic Games Open with Message of Peace 🇰🇷