PYEONGCHANG (South Korea) • When the cauldron is ignited at the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang today, South Korea will kick-start a sequence of three Olympic Games in Asia over the next four years.
It is a highlight of the region's growing clout, and also the declining interest among Western powers in holding the multi-billion dollar events.
After this year's Winter Games which end on Feb 25, Tokyo will take centre stage in the summer of 2020 and Beijing will organise the 2022 Winter Olympics - becoming the first city to hold both a Winter and Summer Games.
Clearly, the appetite to host the Games remains strong in Asia and Pyeongchang organisers should be applauding the occasion, but they have their hands full dealing with an epidemic and mother nature.
As of yesterday, the number of people struck down by the norovirus - which causes vomiting and diarrhoea - has reached 128 but athletes remain unaffected, the Korean Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
Police officers, security personnel and food preparation staff are among those affected, KCDC director Kim Hyun Jun told reporters.
The virus also led to some 1,200 security staff being quarantined. Organisers have had to call in military personnel to replace them.
"There's no confirmed cases (among athletes) and that's the most important thing here," said Kim. "In order to prevent any kind of accident that will prevent them from competing well and enjoying the Games we're doing our best."
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-20
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Temperature (deg C) during the night in Pyeongchang.
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102
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Record number of events at this year's Games.
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92
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Teams represented at the Games.
Even if the virus does not hit the athletes' camp, the icy chill of South Korea's frigid February would come as a shock even for the cold-weather warriors hardened by years of winter sports training.
Plunging to -20 deg C at night and rarely breaking above freezing in the day, the temperatures have put Pyeongchang on track to be the coldest Olympics in decades and present athletes with a very different set of conditions from the sunshine and slushy snow of Sochi four years ago.
Sporting and digital equipment appear no match for the biting cold either, with skis warped to such an extent coaches are tossing them out like "garbage" while cellphone and TV camera batteries are being rendered lifeless in minutes.
But it is the threat of hypothermia at today's opening ceremony that has set organisers on edge, with presidents, prime ministers and some 35,000 spectators scheduled to gather under the stars at Pyeongchang's US$58 million (S$77 million) open-air Olympic stadium.
The ceremony has been slimmed down to a brisk two-hour march from the typical four-hour procession and organisers plan to dish out hats, blankets and seat-warmers to combat the cold.
Virus and cold aside, the Games have also been plagued by the ongoing Russian doping scandal.
A group of 13 Russians lost a last-ditch bid to beat their country's doping ban yesterday.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is also dealing with 47 other Russian appeals, said it "lacked jurisdiction" to deal with the six athletes and seven doctors, coaches and support staff.
The CAS has been handling several appeals from the Russians after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) invited 169 carefully screened Russian athletes to compete as independents.
It also said separately that a decision over the 47 others attempting to gain late entry into the Olympics would be announced today at 11am (10am, Singapore time).
Despite the frosty issues, organisers will be hoping that there will be a warm reception for the four new events added by the IOC for this year's Games.
On the slopes, athletes will now be able to compete in big air snowboarding and mixed team alpine skiing. On the ice, there will now be mass start speed skating and mixed doubles curling.
And on the whole, athletes will compete in 15 sports across 102 events. Without Russia - who topped the tally with 11 golds out of a total 29 in Sochi - in the equation, more medals will be up for grabs.
Based on a medal count projection done by the Wall Street Journal, the United States and Norway are expected to win 36 medals each - improving from 28 and 26 respectively four years ago.
The Americans, being one of the most diverse sporting nations, are predicted to win medals in 12 (or 80 per cent) of the 15 sports.
The Norwegians, meanwhile, are poised to win most of their medals in cross-country skiing. In 2014, Norway won 21 of its 26 medals in three sports, all of which involved cross-country skiing.
At the very least, Norway's 121-strong delegation of athletes and officials have already secured about 124 eggs each. They have in excess 13,500 eggs, after their team chefs wrongly ordered 15,000 instead of the 1,500 needed.
Come rain or shine, or snow and ice, let the Games begin.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
