The Year of the Dog 2018 will delight many sports fans with its 23rd huge event. Yes, that's right - Winter Olympic Games 2018. They still remember them from the games in sunny Sochi. But now the sporting event of the best countries, gathering millions of viewers near the screen, is moving to an Asian country - South Korea. This colorful country will receive a huge number of guests in February 2018. They will fight in 15 winter disciplines. Sports fans will be able to watch hockey duels of the best teams, brilliant ski races and snowboard tricks in the air. In this informative review, you can find answers to questions such as where will the 2018 winter olympics be held? What sports are included in the Winter Olympics?? In addition, you can find out where to watch the Olympics and who is the favorite of the championship.

There is no doubt that the most exciting stage of the games will be a tough fight in the team standings. So let's take a look and find out other interesting aspects of the winter review.

Olympic Games 2018, where will be held

Competitions will begin from February 9 to February 25, 2018 in the city of Pyeongchang. This is a Korean town with a tourist slope, where no more than 50 thousand people live. It is worth noting that Korea was still selected in 2009, but the Koreans did not immediately manage to win the opportunity to host such a significant competition. First, Korea lost to Vancouver, and then to Sochi. However, it is worth paying tribute to this country, because they did not lose their hands, but rather tried and won. The authorities got together and began to improve the infrastructure of the city of Pyeongchang even better, where they repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to show the world their work. Officials from the IOC accepted and gave the go-ahead. Already in 2011, the application from Korea was confirmed and approved immediately at the first stage of voting. The country scored 63 votes, but the suitable Munich - 25.

As a result, according to the results, the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Korea in the city of Pyeongchang.

What sports are included in the Winter Olympics

Many are interested in what sports athletes will compete in for two weeks. So, the list of disciplines:

• Hockey;
• Biathlon;
• Bobsled;
• Curling;
• Figure skating;
• Ski race;
• Snowboard;
• luge;
• Skeleton;
• Skating;
• Short track;
• Freestyle;
• Ski jumping;
• Nordic combined;
• Skiing.

Each sport has a pair of sets of medals. For example, medals in fourteen categories will be played in speed skating. And this is a lot.

Where will the 2018 Winter Olympics be held?

The city itself, where the Winter Olympics 2018 will take place, is located in the Alpensia resort area.

Alpezia Stadium is a large sports ground with indoor and outdoor facilities for various sports. For example, the center is intended for the ski and biathlon part, which can accommodate more than 25,000 people. And that's a pretty serious claim. A ski jumping area that can accommodate over 60,000 fans. It was built and later renovated in 2008.

Ski holiday resort "Alpensia"Parts for bobsleigh and skeletal roads were built in 2012, well, completed. Yongpyeong is the tourist part of the multi-discipline holiday destination, where snowboarding, bobsledding and sprinting competitions will be held.

Of course, most of the competitions will be held in the town of Pyeongchang, but tourists and fans will also be able to visit the town of Gangneung, where other specialized stadiums are located.

The Gangneung Dome Palace can accommodate more than 3,000 fans. There will be a curling championship. Completed special tracks for speed skating. Where places for 8,000 thousand people are separately provided. "Union Hockey Center" in it to play ice hockey. Over 10,000 viewers will be able to watch the game live. "Kwangdong" arena for hockey, where there are seats for 6,000 thousand spectators. But the arena "Chunbong" will please everyone with a downhill. It has a capacity of over 18,000 fans.

Winter Olympic Games 2018 schedule by day and hour

There is no doubt that 99% of sports fans will see the Winter Olympics 2018 on TV or the Internet. Sports fans who want to watch live winter competitions cannot do without a ticket. The minimum price will start from 15 euros, and the maximum up to 1150 euros. Of course, price variations will be adjusted. For example, a ticket for the opening and closing of a gala event will be expensive. Also hockey games and figure skating, they are in great demand.

Let's try to explain. The final meeting of the best hockey teams is the most anticipated, so the price of a ticket can reach about 700 euros, and for figure skating up to 615. Of course, only Korean citizens can buy budget options.

Favorites of the Winter Olympics 2018

At the moment, you have been informed where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. You also know what sports will be shown at many sports stadiums. Ticket prices and medal count. Luck was on the side of Russia, at the last Olympics. Indeed, in Sochi, Russia did not leave a chance for any country in the team standings. The Russians won 13 worthy awards. But Norway took second place with 11 medals.

February 29, 2020, in , there will be a welterweight fight between two professional American boxers: Jesse Vargas and Mikey Garcia.

We tell where will it take place, what time will it start and where to watch boxing Garcia - Vargas February 29 (March 1), 2020.

The meeting of the fighters will be the final one during the boxing evening, which will be held at Ford Center with a capacity of 12 thousand spectators, which is part of the Zvezda complex ( Ford Center at The Star) located in Frisco, Texas (USA).

What time does Garcia vs Vargas boxing start?
The start of the event, which includes nine fights, is scheduled for 18:00 local (Eastern) time on February 29, 2020, which corresponds to 02:00 a.m. Moscow time on March 1, 2020.

Most Anticipated Boxing The fight between Garcia and Vargas will start at approximately 7 am Moscow time on March 1, 2020 (Sunday morning), after completing 8 previous fights.

By the way, in the second fight of the evening (out of nine) Uzbek boxer Israil Madrimov will compete against Charlie Navarro. Also, the fight of the Russian Murat Gassiev against Jerry Forrest was originally planned at the tournament, which was later canceled.

Where to watch the fight Garcia - Vargas February 29 (March 1), 2020:

Live meeting Garcia - Vargas will show "First channel. The beginning of the direct connection from the "Ford Center" - 06:55 Moscow time.

And on the site of the "First" channel, the fight can be watched online and in the recording.

Since ancient times, various beliefs and traditions have been associated with leap years. Today we will talk about what can a woman ask a man on a leap day on February 29, and he has no right to refuse.

There is an old European custom, according to which once every four years - February 29 - a woman can ask for a hand (offer to marry her) from a man, and not vice versa. And a man has no right to just refuse from this proposal - he must either agree or "pay off" (pay a "fine" for refusal). In monetary terms, the "fine" is equal to the cost of 12 pairs of gloves. It is believed that this is how many pairs of gloves a woman will need to hide the absence of a wedding ring until the next leap day.

This tradition originated in Ireland in the 4th century AD, when Saint Patrick, who spread Christianity in the country, allowed women to make marriage proposals to men once every four years. This was done in order to "balance" the roles of men and women in society, just as a leap day on February 29 balances the calendar.

In the Middle Ages, in a number of European countries, this rule was even approved at the legislative level. For example, in the 13th century in Scotland, when young knights died en masse in battles and many girls could not find a mate, a law was passed according to which on February 29 a woman could propose to a man, and if he refused, he was obliged to pay a fine . Similar laws were adopted at different times in England, Denmark and other countries.

And even in Russia there was a similar tradition. Only for "our" girls, the opportunity to call a loved one as a husband did not work for one day, but throughout the whole leap year. The leap year was called the "year of the bride", while matchmakers could not be sent to the girls, because. they chose their own future husbands. Since then, in Russia, a leap year is considered unlucky for a wedding, since men did not have the opportunity to choose their own bride.

The Olympic Games are not only the largest sporting event, but also a huge cultural celebration for millions of fans around the world. Competitions held both in the summer and in the winter season are very popular. The last games were held in 2014 in Russia, in the city of Sochi, and amazed the public with their grandiose scope. The next Winter Olympics - 2018 - will be held in the city of Pyeongchang.

The history of Pyeongchang's struggle for the right to be the Olympic capital

The city of Pyeongchang is located in South Korea, on its territory it will host the XXIII Winter Olympic Games. For the right to become the capital of world sports, this city fought for a long time. Applying twice, he lost first to the Canadian Vancouver, and then to the Russian Sochi. However, the Korean representatives have always been characterized by confidence and constancy, perhaps it was for this that once again luck decided to smile at them.

The definition of the city of Pyeongchang as a venue for the Olympiad took place on July 6, 2011. Thus, South Korea received enough time to carry out all the necessary preparations for the main sporting event. The small city of Pyeongchang was able to bypass the fairly well-known large European cities of Munich and Annessy in the first round of voting. It is worth noting that many analysts considered South Korea the favorite in this sports race in advance.

The Korean athletes made a great impression on the jury of the Olympic Committee. The well-known champion Yoo Na Kim delivered a speech to them. It was she who had the honor to tell the whole world about how the Winter Olympics can change the history of sports in her country. By her example, she convinced everyone that South Korea's competition for the right to host the Olympic Games gave a new impetus to sports, stadiums and tracks began to be built, and conditions were created for the education and training of athletes. The Olympic champion confirmed her words a couple of days before the performance - at the rink, showing the greatest class of skating.

The most important thing about upcoming competitions

A little more than a year is left before the start of the largest winter sports games on the planet, the twenty-third in a row. This time, tens of thousands of athletes, coaches, fans from all over the world will head to the hospitable town of Pyeongchang, located 180 km east of the capital of the Republic of Korea, Seoul. It is here, in the vicinity of the main winter sports center "Country of Morning Calm", from February 9 to 25 next year, the Winter Olympics - 2018 will be held.

The Asian continent has repeatedly hosted the Olympic Games: three times they were held in Japan (Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagano), once in China (Beijing). Moreover, South Korea has also been noted in sports annals as the venue for the games. This honor was awarded in 1988 to Seoul.

In total, the winners of 102 gold medals in the seven most popular winter sports will be determined in Pyeongchang. The organizers of the competition a year before the 2018 Olympics published estimates, according to which more than two and a half thousand athletes from 90 countries are expected to participate in the games.

How was the host city for the Olympic Games chosen?

The history of the relationship between Pyeongchang and the Olympics is indicative of other cities planning to host the Games someday. She is a symbol of diligence and perseverance, the desire to achieve the goal at any cost. Three times in a row, the Korean city has submitted its application to the International Olympic Committee. In 2010, he lost only three votes to Canadian Vancouver, and in 2014, four votes to Russia's Sochi.

Two such offensive defeats with a minimal difference only provoked the residents and city authorities of Pyeongchang. For several years, a first-class sports infrastructure has emerged around the city: an Olympic park, a ski jump complex, ski, biathlon, ski slopes, and a luge center. A significant number of international competitions have been held at these facilities: World Cups, as well as the 2009 Biathlon World Championship.

This time, Pyeongchang, competing with French Annecy and German Munich, looked like a clear favorite. This was confirmed by the IOC session in Durban, South Africa, which determined the place where the next Winter Olympics in 2018 will be held. The South Korean city became the host of the games on the third attempt, without giving the slightest chance to rivals, receiving 63 votes against 25 given to Munich.

Sports "menu" of games in 2018

The program of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang includes 15 sports disciplines, which together form 7 main winter sports.

The difference from Sochi-2014 will be additional competitions in snowboarding (big air) for women and men, mixed pairs in curling, mass starts for speed skaters, team championship of alpine skiers. It was also decided not to run parallel slalom races for women and men.

Thus, the following competitions should take place at the Olympics (indicating the number of medal sets to be played):

• speed skating (14 sets of medals);
• cross-country skiing (12);
• skiing, biathlon (11 each);
• freestyle, snowboard (10 each);
• short track (8);
• figure skating (5);
• luge, ski jumping (4 each);
• bobsleigh, curling, northern combination (3);
• skeleton, hockey (2 each).

Sports infrastructure

Alpensia

All constructed objects are grouped around two centers of "attraction" of the fans' masses and transport arteries. The general layout of the infrastructure is very similar to what was in Sochi in 2014.

The picturesque landscapes of the Alpensia mountain system have been chosen as the venue for outdoor competitions. The ski resort of the same name was built six years ago.

The opening (February 9) and closing (February 25) ceremonies will be held in a ski jumping park with a capacity of up to 60,000 people. The complex of the most modern springboards K-95 and K-125 will host the competitions of jumpers, Nordic Nordics.

The ski and biathlon center "Alpensia" will witness more than twenty races with the participation of the best skiers and biathletes in the world. The six-story stands of the complex, up to 28 meters high, can accommodate about 27,000 spectators. Numerous doping laboratories, medical stations, and a press center are located inside the stadium.

The luge center with a capacity of up to 10,000 people will be the venue for races for bobsledders, lugers, and skeleton masters.

Alpine skiing competitions will be held on the slopes of the Yeonpyeong base, located in the snowiest place in Korea. This is a generally recognized resort of the country, the Mecca of local winter sports, a permanent place for organizing important government events.

Fans of the most extreme winter discipline will see downhill races at the ski stadium of the Chungbong resort.

The Olympic Village is located in Pyeongchang itself. The organizers of the games guarantee that all participants in the games will be provided with the most comfortable conditions for living, rest, recovery.

Gangneung

The so-called coastal cluster is concentrated on the territory of the city of Gangneung, a major economic and tourist center of the country, located on the shores of the Sea of ​​Japan.

A temporary hockey center for 10,000 spectators has already been built here. The architecture of the building is very original and resembles a snowdrift. The qualifying matches of the group tournament will also be held at the ice arena of Kwangdong University.

Curling competitions will be hosted by an indoor ice rink, built in 1998, with a capacity of three thousand people.

Separate indoor skating rinks are already ready for competitions of figure skaters, speed skaters and short track virtuosos.

Mascots and emblem of the Pyeongchang Olympics

Two animals characteristic of South Korea were chosen as the official mascots of the games.

The white tiger Suhorang is a favorite character in Korean folk tales. Its color suggests associations with snow and winter sports. Sukhoran is the main symbol of the upcoming 2018 Olympics. As conceived by its authors, the tiger personifies trust in the sports festival, protection of its participants and spectators.

The second predator is the strong-willed, courageous Bandabi Himalayan bear, a symbol of the Paralympic Games, which will also be held here after the completion of the main games.

Interestingly, the mascot of the 1988 Seoul Olympics was also a tiger. True, he was orange and Amur, and his name was "Hodori".

The emblem of the games is a combination of two symbols. The first of them symbolizes the unity and harmony of man, earth and sky. The snowflake, on the other hand, indicates the winter component of the upcoming event.

Game ticket program

The official booking of tickets for the competitions of the upcoming Olympic Games will start in January 2017.

According to the organizing committee, tickets for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics will cost less than Sochi 2014.

The most expensive event to attend will be the opening and closing ceremonies. The minimum cost of passage here will be 168 euros. Maximum - 1147 euros.

The lowest prices are offered for qualifying matches of the hockey tournament. In general, the organizers have prepared a surprise for sports fans. About 50% of all tickets for competition games will cost 61 euros or less. The organizing committee is counting on a serious flow of fans, primarily from Korea itself, as well as neighboring countries: China, Japan, Russia.

The highest prices are planned for the final match of the hockey championship and figure skating competitions, which are insanely popular both in South Korea itself and in neighboring Japan. The range of prices for the hockey final is from 229 to 689 euros, for figure skaters competitions - from 115 to 612 euros.

In general, the upcoming Olympic Games are a landmark event for the country. The whole of 2017 will pass for the citizens of Korea in anticipation of the Olympics. Travel agencies of the country are already buying rooms in all hotels, renting all possible rental housing from private residents.

Fans planning to attend the Pyeongchang Winter Sports Festival should start worrying about travel, accommodation and competition tickets now, exactly one year before the Olympics.