Approximately 500 people attended the inaugural edition of the event at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, which included a proclamation ceremony with a public relations booth and exhibitions of Para-sports equipment.

The ceremony also featured a wheelchair curling and ice sledge hockey experience zone, while there were various events and shows put on for the public in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, photographer Seihon Cho and wheelchair curler Haksung Kim were officially unveiled as the latest ambassadors for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Cho is well known in South Korea as a photographer focusing on the humanitarian purposes of promoting aid for people with disadvantages, while Kim was part of the South Korean team that won a Paralympic silver medal at Vancouver 2010 and played a key role in Pyeongchang's successful bid in 2011. 

Paralympic silver medallist Haksung Kim was officially unveiled as a Pyeongchang 2018 ambassador by President Cho Yang-ho during a special ceremony in Seoul
©Pyeongchang 2018





The annual event, which has its own signature slogan of "It's your turn!", will help promote enthusiasm among the public for the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Games, it is claimed, while also enhancing awareness and understanding of the challenges of competing in high level sports events with physical impairments.

Also in attendance were Cho Yang-ho, Presidentof Pyeongchang 2018, Kim Jong Deok, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kim Sung-Il, President of the Korean Paralympic Committee, Na Kyung-won, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board member, and ice skater Kim Yuna, the Vancouver 2010 gold medallist and arguably the country's most popular sports figure.

Pyeongchang 2018 it is committed to hosting the most successful Paralympic Winter Games, as well as raising awareness about Paralympic sports and showcasing the values of the Movement, it has claimed.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medallist Kim Yuna (third from left) and Pyeongchang 2018 President Cho Yang-ho (third from right) were among the personalities who had a go at wheelchair curling during the South Korean city's Paralympic Day ©Pyeongchang 2018

Earlier this month, Pyeongchang 2018 confirmed the completion of its signature "Accessibility Manua"l for venues and services to help towards its goal. 

The announcement came less than four weeks after the IPC had urged Pyeongchang 2018 to "start putting plans into action", following the fourth Project Review inspection of the Winter Games in Seoul.

Speaking after the completion of the inspection, IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez stressed that the following 12 months would be "critical" in shaping up the future of the Games, scheduled to take place between March 9 and 18.

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