2018 Winter Paralympics closes with multiple records,China's 1st gold
The DPRK's participation made the Pyeongchang Paralympics a peace Winter Games as the joint torch relay of one DPRK and one ROK athlete in the opening ceremony delivered a strong message of peace. The two countries marched together during last month's opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
For the past 10 days, athletes competed in 80 medal events, eight more than the previous Sochi Winter Paralympics, across six sports that include Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboard, ice sledge hockey, wheelchair curling and biathlon.
About 345,000 tickets were sold for the Pyeongchang Paralympics, smashing the previous record of 316,200 sales set at the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics. Revenue from the ticket sales amounted to 6.95 billion won (6.5 million US dollars).
Covering the competitions were 629 accredited media outlets, 15 percent more than the Sochi Paralympics. A total of 47 broadcast rights holders screened TV pictures to over 100 countries and regions.
During the closing ceremony, the Paralympic flag came down and was handed over by the mayor of Pyeongchang to the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and then to the mayor of Beijing, the host city of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics.
China's national flag was hoisted to national anthem at the closing ceremony. It was followed by an art performance directed by Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director, raising high anticipations for the next para-athlete event.
