PyeongChang's closing ceremony to include preview of Beijing 2022

The closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will include a preview of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, organisers said on Saturday.

Zhang Yimou, the director of the Beijing 2022 handover performance, said he has planned an eight-minute show for the closing ceremony to be held at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium on Sunday, reports Yonhap news agency.

The Chinese director also took charge of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

"We plan to deliver a message of inviting athletes and people around the globe to Beijing through an interesting performance that utilizes artificial intelligence technologies," Zhang said during the conference.

"China's culture, tradition and the country's exchanges with the world will be condensed into the eight-minute show," the director said. "I am concerned about the weather, and I hope it will not be too windy."

Organisers said spectators should brace for cold weather for the closing ceremony, which will be similar to that of the opening ceremony, when temperatures reached minus 2.7 Celsius.

The wind chill is expected to make it feel as low as minus 9 degrees Celsius.

Titled "The Next Wave," the closing ceremony will highlight the Olympic spirit of challenge and will present a vision of the future and a message of peace.

The show, which kicks off at 8 p.m., will mix traditional Korean imagery with modern aesthetics while also presenting its future vision of Korea through K-pop productions headlined by boy band EXO and hip-hop songstress CL.

--IANS

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