29 January 2024 – The “Let's Play Winter Festival”, featuring K-pop stars CLASS:y, ATBO and Baek A-yeon, is providing local youth with the opportunity to experience winter sports and K-pop at the same time during the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024.
Created to celebrate the exciting winter sports on display at the YOG, as well as the unique culture of the Republic of Korea, the festival is being held at sites throughout the host region and provides the local population with the chance to enjoy a wide variety of activities completely free of charge, including sports demonstrations, live music, and interactive food and craft experiences.
Each festival site features a different theme, with the activities in Gangneung Olympic Park focusing on “Ice”. Visitors can go skating on an outdoor ice rink, or try their hand at curling, ice hockey or biathlon target shooting. There are also traditional Korean games and food on offer, while fans can commemorate their visit at a photo booth and learn more about the cutting-edge technologies of Worldwide Olympic Partners Alibaba and Samsung in their interactive pavilions.
The main stage has also featured daily music performances from a range of artists, headlined by K-pop girl band CLASS:y, with fans being given the opportunity to win prizes such as plush toys of the official mascot, Moongcho, by taking to the stage to compete in dance-offs.
The “Snow” festival in PyeongChang, meanwhile, features tubing and ski jumping experiences, as well as tours of the Olympic Museum and talks by Olympic champions Yuna Kim, Yun Sung-bin and Seung Min Ryu. Similar events have also been held in the mountain resorts of Jeongseon and Hoengseong, under the themes of “Speed” and “Wild” respectively, and have included performances from K-pop stars ATBO and Baek A-yeon.
At all four sites, the free activities of the Let’s Play Winter Festival have been entertaining the thousands of fans attending YOG events, while bringing local people together to celebrate sport and Gangwon 2024.
In addition, a full programme of cultural events has been taking place at Gangneung Art Centre’s Saimdang Hall throughout the Games, with performances from the Korean National Dance Company, the Gangneung Dream Orchestra, the Korean National Opera and the Gangneung Angels Choir helping to showcase the unique culture of the host nation.
The Let’s Play Winter Festival continues in Gangneung, PyeongChang, Jeongseon and Hoengseong until the end of the YOG on 1 February, when Gangneung Olympic Park will host the Gangwon 2024 Closing Ceremony.
