Gangneung, Korea, February 1, 2024: IOC President Thomas Bach described Asia’s first Winter Youth Olympic Games, Gangwon 2024, as a “brilliant success” during a press conference at the Main Media Centre in Gangneung on Thursday.
President Bach, accompanied by the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Gangwon 2024, Zhang Hong of China, said the Winter YOG had demonstrated the legacy of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in terms of the hardware and software.
“You see a very happy IOC President and a very happy Chair of the Coordination Commission because this Winter Youth Olympic Games has been a brilliant success, so I would like to congratulate everybody who has contributed to this outstanding success,” he said.
The IOC President added that the athletes had been able to compete in the same state-of-the art facilities as their winter sports idols of PyeongChang 2018, while Gangwon 2024 had been able to call on many volunteers from the Winter Olympics six years ago in order to ensure the smooth running of the YOG.
He also praised the legacy programmes of PyeongChang 2018, as 39 athletes from these programmes had competed at Gangwon 2024 and two athletes from countries not associated with winter sports, Thailand and Tunisia, had won silver medals in monobob bobsleigh.
“Everybody felt at home and welcomed by the volunteers,” said President Bach.
On the financial side, the IOC had assisted Gangwon 2024 to the tune of 37 million USD – 25 million USD towards the cost of organising the YOG, 10 million USD for free travel and accommodation for 78 National Olympic Committees and 2 million USD for athlete preparations and qualification.
Regarding the profile of the Winter YOG through TV and social media, President Bach said 30 per cent of Korean people had seen some coverage, 75 per cent of Korean people were aware of Gangwon 2024 and 80 per cent of them had a positive view.
“The digital world went way beyond our expectations. There were 250 million engagements, which is an overwhelming success and unprecedented for a junior sports event,” he said.
The IOC President added that the Winter YOG had provided the Olympic experience to the young athletes and prepared them for the Olympic Winter Olympics so that they would not be “overwhelmed” by the occasion.
Looking ahead, President Bach said there would be no flag handover at the Gangwon 2024 closing ceremony on Thursday evening because the next host had not been determined. This will happen later this year or early next year.
Summing up PyeongChang 2018 and Gangwon 2024, the IOC President concluded: “Korea has established itself as a premier Olympic organizer. Korea as a host is always very well appreciated, and now it is in the hands of our Korean friends,” he added, referring to the possibility of a Korean bid for a future Olympic Games.