Lausanne, Switzerland, January 9, 2020: The 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games got underway with a sparkling opening ceremony at the Vaudoise Arena on Thursday, January 9.
The ceremony was full of surprises for the 8,000 spectators who enjoyed seven stories highlighting the Olympic spirit and the theme of “Home” – all performed in spectacular style by local young people.
From the beginning of the opening ceremony, as fog gave way to a winter world of traditional chalets, spectators were welcomed “Home” to the Olympic capital and taken on a poetic journey through the different phases of an athlete’s growth.
The participants in the athletes’ parade – consisting of the flags of the 79 National Olympic Committees competing at Lausanne 2020 – were treated to a wall of noise as they entered the stadium.
At different points of the night, screens also panned over to St Moritz, where the opening ceremony was being streamed live and where the 225 athletes who will be staying there took part in their own parade.
IOC President Thomas Bach and Lausanne 2020 President Virginie Faivre soon took to the stage to give their speeches, before handing over to Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation, to declare the Winter YOG open, after which the athletes’, judges’ and coaches’ oaths were taken.
The cauldron was lit by ice dancer Gian Zehnder – the youngest member of the 112-strong Swiss delegation here at the YOG – in a fitting illustration of the Organising Committee’s commitment to youth.
The IOC’s 3rd Winter YOG will run from January 9-22 with 1,872 athletes from 79 NOCs. Twelve of the NOCs are competing in the Winter YOG for the first time including Hong Kong-China, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand and Turkmenistan.
Source: www.olympic.org