S. Korea starts 50-day countdown to Winter Olympics

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A series of celebrations happened on Thursday in South Korea, marking the 50-day countdown to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games.

Several aircraft from the country’s 239th Aerobatic Flight Squadron, the “Black Eagles”, performed over the Alpensia Stadium, one of the venues for the games. The planes displayed a pattern of Olympic Rings in the sky.

Other activities characterized by local features were also held in the cities of Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Jeongseon. The celebrations will run through the weekend.

South Korea's 239th Aerobatic Flight Squadron “Black Eagles” perform over a winter Olympics venue in Pyeongchang, South Korea. /VCG Photo

It will be the second time that South Korea will host the Olympics, following the Seoul Summer Games in 1988.

Even with the previous chaos and debates over whether it is safe to attend the 2018 Winter Games due to tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the preparations have already come to an end, as venue construction is completed and at least 43 heads of states had confirmed their attendance by mid-November.

In Gangneung, a city well known for its tea and coffee culture, a total of 50 tea ceremony masters and baristas were invited to perform for visitors.

Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza, venue for opening and closing ceremony. /Photo‍ via PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee

There are also other celebrations held in capital Seoul. Lee Hee-beom, president of the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee, also attended the celebrations, saying that the country is ready to “welcome the first athletes and officials in only a few weeks’ time”, and they are “looking forward to giving them, and the spectators, a warm Korean welcome.”

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will kick off on February 9, 2018.

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