Press releases

MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – A Belarusian delegation has been accredited for the Pyeongchang Olympics. During the accreditation process which lasted for two hours the Organizing Committee allocated five additional quotas for the Belarusian team for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games, BelTA learned from the press service of Belarus’ Sports and Tourism Ministry.

The additional quotas were given to two skiers and three figure skaters, chief of the Belarusian mission to the 2018 Winter Games Alexander Baraulya said. Belarus is to decide on the athletes and the competitions they will take part in.

“Today the administrative group which is staying in the Olympic village is dealing with the organizational matters related to the upcoming accommodation of the athletes and coaches. A large group of Belarusian Olympians will take off from Minsk on 1 February. We should be fully ready and take every detail into account before they arrive. Tomorrow we will start sorting out the medical supplies and equipping the medical facility,” Alexander Baraulya noted. In his words, the Belarusian delegation occupies three floors. Everything is comfortable and functions well. The closest neighbors in the eastern wing of the building are Latvia and Estonia. Canadians will be accommodated in the western wing.

“We are now getting accustomed. We are inquiring about the transport schedule, the work of the medical center located in the village, the paperwork details, and other things. Basically, there are two Olympic villages here. The second one is situated in Gangneung, this is why we will have to send someone from our staff to the other cluster to coordinate the effort and promptly handle any problems,” the official remarked.

He also added that Belarus’ flag-raising ceremony is scheduled to be held in the Olympic village at 15:00 local time (9:00 Minsk time) on 7 February.