FX.co ★ World's preparations for 2018 Olympics

The Olympic torch relay is held before the main start of sports competitions. The torch for the Pyeongchang 2018 winter Olympics was lit in ancient Olympia on October 24, 2017. The Olympic Torch Relay began on November 1, 2017. The torch will travel over 100 days and 2,018 km to 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide with the participation of 7.5 thousand torchbearers. The torch was designed in such a way that the flame will not extinguish under any weather conditions.

The Olympic Winter Games 2018 medals have been unveiled at a ceremony held in Seoul on September 21, 2017. These consonants stretch across the face of the medals to the edge, where they come together to spell “Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018”. As a result, they create dynamic diagonal lines that reflect both the history of the Olympic Games and the determination of the competitors vying for a place on the podium. The ribbon from which the medal hangs is an equally important part of the design, and has been created using Gapsa, a traditional Korean fabric.

Some teams have alreadypresented an Olympic uniform. In the photo, there are U.S. freeskiing team. The presentation of the uniform for adult athletes for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang will be held in December.

Uniforms for athletes of the Russian national team will be unveiled in December. The company ZA SPORT, which replaced Bosco, is engaged in outfitting. Suitcases became an innovation for Russian athletes. Before that, they had to be content only with bags.

The official mascots for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were launched on 2 June. An Asiatic black bear named “Bandabi” and a white tiger named “Soohorang” will each represent the Paralympic and Olympic Winter Games. Both animals appear in South Korea's foundation mythology and are closely associated with Korean culture and folklore. The bear is symbolic of strong will and courage.

Ice sculptures in the shape and color of the Olympic rings at the Winter Festival in Pyeongchang, during which the symbols and mascots of the Olympics were presented.

Preparatory and construction work is now being conducted at several other Olympic venues. The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of next year's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, was set to be completed by September, but at the end of October they were still going on. Olympic Plaza is a temporary stadium. Its cost, according to various sources, is estimated at $75-80 million. After the Games, the 35,000 temporary seats and buildings will be removed. The site will be turned into an Olympic Memorial Hall and a sports facility.

Athletes will make themselves comfortable during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the Olympic Village in Gangneung-si City, Gangwon-do Province. The construction began in July 2015 and was complete in September 2017. The Olympic Village is divided into an operational section and the residential section.

In the operational section are the welcome center, where athlete receptions will be offered, a main entry for visitors, a main dining hall where meals for the athletes will be served, and a transport mall, the gateway to the game venues.

The residential section has two types of units, one sized 75 square meters (807 square feet) and one sized 85 square meters (915 square feet). A total of 2,717 people can stay at the Olympic Village.

The nine buildings, ranging from 22- to 25-stories and with one or two basements, have 922 housing units.

The heart and soul of the games will be the Alpensia resort, finished in 2009, which will serve as the Olympic Village. The Olympic Park, a zone for racing and biathlon, a park for jumping from a springboard, a complex of sled sports were prepared for the world event.

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will undoubtedly attract many tourists. In early 2016, six buses began to run on 6 routes. Those who wish can easily get from Seoul to other provinces of the country. The bus network covers the provinces of Gangwon-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, Daegu city, and Tongariro National Park.