Seoul, Korea, October 18, 2022: Ancient and modern Korea combined in a fusion of dance and song at the welcome reception for the 26th ANOC General Assembly Seoul 2022 on Tuesday evening.
The reception, which was attended by IOC President Thomas Bach and Acting ANOC President Robin Mitchell, took place at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Centre in downtown Gangnam and was hosted by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.
The evening began with contemporary dance and video and ended with a breathtaking display of breakdancing by Fusion MC Crew – this sport will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024 – and a couple of catchy songs by the all-girl K-Pop group Secret Number.
The breakdancing team even performed a short dance routine from the global K-Pop smash hit “Gangnam Style” to remind the audience they were right in the middle of modern Korea.
This energetic finale, highlighting why Korean culture is sweeping many parts of the world, brought the official welcome reception to an entertaining close and set the scene for the two-day General Assembly beginning Wednesday when around 950 delegates from the Olympic sports movement will gather at COEX.
The KSOC President and IOC Member, Lee Kee-heung, provided the welcome remarks. He said the world had overcome the difficulties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to the solidarity of the Olympic movement. This had resulted in the IOC being able to organise the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last summer and the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.
“I would like to thank the ANOC secretariat, Seoul city and the Korean government for organising the 26th ANOC General Assembly,” he said.
“The Olympic movement brings peace to the world and this is another example of peace through sport. I hope the General Assembly will lead to cooperation between all the National Olympic Committees of the world.”
Over 180 of the 204 eligible National Olympic Committees have sent delegates to Seoul and the rest will join on line. This is a big increase from the 150 NOCs who attended the 2021 General Assembly in Crete, Greece and shows how the world is returning to normal.
The Acting ANOC President, Dr. Robin Mitchell of Fiji, said Korea had developed at great pace since his first visit to Seoul, for the Asian Games in 1986, and had now become an established sporting nation and economic power.
He added that athletes from around the world would be excited to come to Gangwon for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2024.
“I would like to thank the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee for all their work during Covid-19. We have no doubt it will be a fantastic General Assembly,” said Dr. Mitchell, who is President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees.
This will be the third time Korea has hosted the ANOC General Assembly and it is taking place two years after the original schedule of 2020 which would have tied in with the centenary celebrations of the Olympic sports movement in the country.