By Emily Goddard

Pyeongchang_Olympic_Day_Run_28-06-11June 26 - Key figures of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee, including International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Dae-sung Moon and a number of athlete ambassadors, have celebrated 2011's Olympic Day.


Moon started the Olympic Day celebrations in Seoul Olympic Park by lighting a special Pyeongchang 2018 bid torch from the 1988 Seoul Olympic flame.

Pyeongchang 2018 sports director Kwang-bae Kang and Vancouver 2010 medallists Yoon-Gy Kwak and Jung-Su Lee did a relay with the torch, finally lighting another cauldron which symbolised Pyeongchang's bid for the 2018 Winter Games.

Following the ceremony, 2,018 runners participated in the 5,000 metre and one kilometre Olympic Day Run to show their commitment to the Olympic Movement and support Pyeongchang's bid to host the 2018 Winter Games.

Chairman and chief executive of Pyeongchang 2018 Yang Ho Cho said: "The Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee is delighted and honoured to have participated in the Olympic Day event - a true celebration of the IOC and the values of Olympism.

"This Olympic Day Run in Korea demonstrates our country's commitment to the Olympic Movement and we want to highlight with our bid, and our 'New Horizons' vision, how we can now help connect the Movement with millions of new, young hearts and minds across Asia."

Held annually around the world, Olympic Day celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the IOC on June 23, 1894 the Baron Pierre de Coubertin, with 2001 being the 25th year that Olympic Day has taken place.

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