The opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games cost South Korea around 50 million euros. Initially planned were 75 million euros,”but they wanted to show that they were a modest country,”said Song Seung Hwann, Technical Director of the show.
It has been known for months that figure skating Olympic champion Kim Yuna will light the fire in the stadium. “I was a little nervous,”said the Vancouver Olympic champion.”We couldn’t rehearse the torch delivery with the hockey players.”
Only the day before, it was decided that the two ice hockey players Chong Su Hyon (North Korea) and Park Jong Ah (South Korea) should jointly climb a long staircase with 120 steps to present the torch to Kim on an elevated platform,”It was an honour to light the Olympic celebration,”said the 27-year-old.
The International Olympic Committee was satisfied with the opening ceremony. IOC spokesman Mark Adams described the festival as “spectacular” and “exciting”. According to the organizers, 99.2 percent of the stadium with its 35,000 visitors was sold out.