PyeongChang athletes' village holds first welcoming ceremony

The main athletes' village of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics held the first ceremony to usher in Olympians on Monday, four days before the opening of the games.

The welcoming ceremony was conducted for athletes from Romania, Belgium and Brazil at the PyeongChang Olympic Village (POV). They braved icy winds as they marched and hoisted their national flags, reports Yonhap news agency.

Ryu Seung-min, South Korean IOC member and POV governor, welcomed the athletes.

"Welcome to PyeongChang. I will work hard to make you feel comfortable as at home," said Ryu, a former table tennis gold medallist, dressed in the traditional Korean attire known as hanbok.

The welcoming event is mostly ceremonial, as many athletes have already settled in since last week. The village, along with another athletes' village in sub-host city of Gangneung, plans to host successive welcoming events during the run-up to the Games, which open Friday.

The Jamaican national team was originally scheduled to be part of the welcome ceremony but did not appear. The reason for the absence was not immediately clear. Most of the Jamaican national team have already moved into the village.

A number of key facilities at the village were unveiled to the media for the first time. Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympics Committee, Lee Hee-beom, head of the organising committee for Pyeongchang, and other key Olympics-related officials greeted athletes at the village and ate lunch in its dining area. Chang Ung, a North Korean IOC member, and Jacques Rogge, former IOC president, also dined along with athletes.

Most athletes expressed satisfaction over the PyeongChang Olympic Village's facilities, but some have noted that the in-house gym could have been bigger.

"The rooms are very good but the gym seems a bit too small," a bobsleigh athlete from Croatia said.

Bach and several IOC board members also visited the "Place of Mourning" within the village where athletes can pay tribute to those who have died during past Olympics. The place houses two stones from Olympia, Greece, to make the symbolic link to the birthplace of the Games.

--IANS

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