Wind chill expected to hit -22°C for Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony

Posted on : 2018-02-05 17:21 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Rehearsal for the event takes place in bitterly cold weather, but receives generally positive reviews
 six days before the event is scheduled. (Yonhap News)
six days before the event is scheduled. (Yonhap News)

It was morning on Feb. 4 at the entrance of the Gangneung Ice Arena, the venue for the figure skating and short track speed skating events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The security screening officer huddled as she spoke, dressed in a thickly padded coat bearing the word “Security.” With temperatures already downwards of 10 degrees below zero Celsius, icy winds brought the wind chill temperature to 20 below.

“I’m absolutely freezing,” the security officer told reporters, but she also chuckled – perhaps out of a sense of pride over her contribution to the Olympics. The officer was a part-time employee rather than a volunteer, with a shift running twelve hours from 9 am to 9 pm.

Cold temperatures with lows of -10°C are also on the forecast for Feb. 9, when the two-hour opening ceremony is scheduled at 8 pm at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

An opening ceremony rehearsal on the evening of Feb. 3 took place in -15°C conditions, with a wind chill temperature of -22°C.

“I wore another layer underneath, a hat, a muffler, two pairs of socks, and mask,” an organizing committee member said. “And it’s still too cold.”

The rehearsal that day mimicked actual opening ceremony activities, including the transportation of visitors to the stadium by shuttle bus from nearby Jinbu Station. Around 20,000 people were invited, including volunteers, cast members and their family, officials at institutions involved in the ceremony, and residents of Pyeongchang and Gangneung. The event ended around 10:10 that evening, although some visitors left early because of the harsh cold.

“I left because I was worried my toes might get frostbitten,” said one of those who left before the event was over, a woman in her fifties wrapped from top to bottom in a blanket.

Inside the stadium, wind screens were in place at every corner where the wind came in, with 18 heated lounge areas and 40 large heaters for visitors. The toughest time appeared to be the hour or so battle against the cold in the long line waiting to pass through the security screening to enter the stadium.

“It’s good to have security screening, but does it make sense to force us to stand outside for over an hour in this kind of cold?” said a 54-year-old Goyang resident surnamed Kim.

A child looks at the line to enter the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for a rehearsal of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 3
A child looks at the line to enter the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for a rehearsal of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 3

The assessment of the opening ceremony was generally positive.

“It was so cold that I don’t really remember what happened in the opening ceremony,” admitted one visitor.

“I got a real sense of beauty and grandeur from the opening ceremony itself. The kids who haven’t started school year also enjoyed watching it,” the visitor continued.

A Pyeongchang Olympics organizing committee source said, “It’s been a struggle with the cold, a lot of people have been encouraging the volunteers.”

“There have been issues with the lines getting backed up at the security screening, but overall the response has been that it was pretty good,” the source added.

By Kim Kyung-moo, senior staff writer

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