Winter Olympics PyeongChang 2018 – The highlights so far!
The Winter Olympics 2018
The 2018 Winter Olympics are now underway in PyeongChang, South Korea.
It is the 23rd Winter Olympics and the first time it is being held in South Korea.
This years winter games started with the last minute addition of North Korea, joining South Korea in a show of unity. The inclusion of North Korea marks an concerted effort by both countries to unite their citizens, among the ongoing political and military tensions.
So as Day 6 of the games gets underway, we give you the highlights of the competition so far!
The opening Ceremony
The games officially started on 9th February with the opening ceremony held in the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium. The temporary stadium, which will be pulled down after the games end on the 25th February, held some 35,000 spectators, while millions of tv viewers were watching from around the world.
The two Korean nations unite under joint flag

Who are OAR ?

Shorts in the Stadium

Topless Tonga

Top Ten Winter sports

The winners so far
Olympic Medals Count:

Ice Hockey – Women’s Ice Hockey Team

Figure Skating
Figure skating is often described as ‘dancing on ice’ and with all the spins, jumps and moves, it truly is an enjoyable winter sport to spectate. Usually though, the soundtrack the skaters perform to is a little on the dull side. Often either classic music or tracks from musicals are chosen to accompany the performance. Enter Chafik Besseghier, representing France in the figure skating short programme event. Dressed as a taxi driver, Chafik decided to liven things up on the rink, and ‘busted some moves’ to ‘Rapper’s Delight’ the 1979 Sugar Hill Gang hit. While the performance may not bag him a medal, it was definitely one of the most memorable of the figure skating performances so far.

Japan’s defending Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu was also back on the ice for the short programe. Having injured his ankle in November last year, Hanyu had not skated professionally since October,. This left some to question how well he would cope with the jumps and spins expected of him. They need not have worried though, as Hanyu put on a seemingly flawless performance with lots of jumps and spinning around (- called a triple axel and quad toeloop-triple-toeloop combination apparently!) Hanyu now leads the men’s figure skating in terms of points, putting him on track for the gold!

North Korea’s Cheerleaders

The Bullet Men of PyeongChang

Nothing says ‘the Winter Olympics’ like three giant silver statues of naked men in Phallic shaped helmets!
Dubbed the ‘Bullet Men’, these huge statues greet spectators and journalists as they enter the Olympic Media Center. Said to embody the ‘human desire for a wonderful body, wealth and honour’ these statues have become a target for memes trending on the internet, such as the ‘Olympic latte below.

Closing ceremony
Where next?
The next winter Olympics will be in four years time, 2022 and will be held in Beijing. The next Summer Olympics are scheduled for 2020 and will be held in Tokyo.About the Author

Samantha Dixon
Marketing Executive at ESE
Samantha is British and has taught English as a foreign language in several different countries including Thailand and Finland. She has been with ESE since March 2016 and is now working as part of the Marketing team as a Marketing Executive. Samantha enjoys being creative, painting and writing when time allows. She also enjoys spending time with her 4 year old son and her new baby daughter, soaking up the Maltese sun.

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