Curlers are curling and skiers are jumping in Pyeongchang, but the Winter Olympics formally kick off with the opening ceremony. Stay here for live updates, photographs and analysis from Pyeongchang.
How to watch: The ceremony began at 6 a.m. Eastern. You can stream it live here.
Viktor Ahn misses chance at heroic homecoming.
Missing from the group of athletes from Russia was Viktor Ahn, a short track speedskater of South Korean descent. He was among the athletes barred from competing in the Pyeongchang Games. Competing here would have been significant for his career. He was one of South Korea’s best skaters and won his first three Olympic golds while competing for South Korea. But after a bitter falling-out with South Korean sports officials, Ahn switched his allegiance to Russia.
Team USA walks out to “Gangnam Style.”
Vice President Mike Pence waves at the huge American contingent ... at 242 it is the largest ever for any country at any Winter Games. The U.S. also got the chance to walk out to “Gangnam Style,” by far the most successful Korean pop song ever.
The parade of nations follows Korean alphabet.
The backbone of any opening ceremony is the parade of nations. While there are always some interesting costumes and glimpses of stars, its sheer length can test even the most geographically fascinated fan. Tonight’s is scheduled to run for a full 56 minutes. The athletes are coming out alphabetically, so why are Norway and Netherlands near the front? Because it’s alphabetically by the countries’ names in Korean. Unless that’s one of your fluent languages, this method will provide a dash of the unexpected. (Timor-Leste just followed Germany.)
A slight change in the program.
With the North Koreans deciding just a month before the start of the Winter Games to send a delegation, there was little time to adjust the opening ceremony show. Five hours before the start of the opening ceremony, Song Seung-whan, a South Korean actor and popular theatrical show creator who directed the show, said that he had only tinkered with one segment of the show to reflect North Korea’s presence. (He would not offer any spoiler alerts.)
Looking relaxed in a black turtleneck sweater and jeans, Mr. Song said that his biggest concern in the run-up to the ceremony was the cold. “We had to develop many contingency plans just in case the weather went bad,” he said. A few days ago, when temperatures plunged below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, dancers were given spikes for their shoes to ensure that they could dance in icy conditions. Mr. Song said that engineers were also concerned that the hundreds of electronic devices being deployed for the ceremony might not work in the freezing temperatures but “we tested them at the rehearsal and they were fine.”
As it turns out, the weather on Friday night was practically balmy, expected to fall only to about 28 degrees.
Mr. Song said he struggled to keep the show, which features 1,300 performers and another 700 volunteers in one scene, within a “very limited budget.” He declined to say what that budget was, but noted with a laugh: “It was far less than Beijing.”
Thomas Bach, gold medalist opens the Games.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, makes his appearance. As always, he is introduced as “gold medal winner” (he won a fencing medal in 1976).
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is also in attendance, together with the North’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea shook hands with Ms. Kim briefly.
Let the ceremony begin.
The 2018 Winter Games opening ceremony has begun. There are several unusual things about the site for the ceremony, Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. First off, it’s small. Seating 35,000, it is dwarfed by the likes of the Maracana (78,000) which hosted in 2016. Second, it’s just for the ceremonies, not any events. Third, it’s temporary. It will be demolished after the games. And lastly it is an unusual shape, a pentagon. Look for some other “5” symbolism in tonight’s show.
It’s cold, but everybody’s prepared.
The forecasts were true: It’s pretty cold here.
Temperatures dipped to around 28 degrees as fans started to enter the stadium an hour before the ceremony, and steady winds made it feel far chillier than that.
Reports emerged during the week that scores of spectators attending a rehearsal here last Saturday ended up leaving early due to the extreme cold. But several fans outside the stadium on Friday declared themselves ready to face the chill
“I’m from Buffalo,” said Mary Salvador, who had travelled from New York to join a group of Korean adoptees from around the United States. Moment earlier, she had pulled on a pair of dark ski pants. Pulling hand warmers from her pocket, she added, “You need these. We’ve been using these all week.”
The ceremonies at the previous two Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia and Vancouver, were held indoors, and cold temperatures were not an issue at those Games, anyway.
Organizers here were proactive addressing the issue. Each attendee at the stadium received a package that included hand and foot warmers, a wool hat, a poncho, a blanket and a heated seat cushion.
“Just wear layers and layers to protect yourself from the wind,” said Lauri Leppanen, 38, who was visiting from Turku, Finland, with his partner, Sanna Saarinen, 35. “I’m wearing merino wool, which is pretty cozy.”
One Korea
Not every athlete and fan was happy with the news that some North Koreans would join the South Korean women’s ice hockey team. But when the two Koreas, who have been separated for 70 years, march in together, it should still be an electrifying moment on this peninsula and around the world.
That’s a Lot of Russians
Wasn’t Russia kicked out of the Games? Yes and no. Despite the sanctions on the country for a state-sponsored doping program, more than 150 Russian athletes will compete here. There will be no Russian flag though, and their uniforms will have a few extra words: “Olympic Athlete From.”
Privileges of Hosting
Whether it be the Bolshoi Ballet in Sochi or Lionel Richie in Los Angeles, nations like to show off the best of their culture. Some details of the opening ceremony remain closely guarded secrets, but expect a celebration of Korean culture and history.
The Caldron
The lighting of the Olympic caldron is always one of the most thrilling moments of the opening ceremony, and one of the highest honors the Olympics can bestow. Generally the caldron lighter is a great Olympian of the past from the host country: Muhammad Ali, Midori Ito, Li Ning, Vladislav Tretiak. South Korea has won dozens of Winter Games medals over the years, so it has a number of good candidates.
But what about Kim Dong Sung? Yes, he won a short-track speedskating gold medal in 1998. But more important, he was disqualified from another gold in 2002, giving first place to the American Apolo Ohno. South Koreans were greatly aggrieved by the DQ, and remain so. Awarding Kim the right to light the caldron might seem like poetic justice.
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