page_title: 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
section_title: Dignitaries in attendance
hierarchical_section_title: 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony / Dignitaries in attendance
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of Kim Yo-jong attending the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics on 9 February 2018
context_page_description: The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea on 9 February 2018. It began at 20:00 KST and finished at approximately 22:20 KST. The Games were officially opened by President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in.
context_section_description: About 25 heads of state attended the ceremony, in addition to the UN Secretary General. President of Russia Vladimir Putin was invited to attend, but declined due to the ban on Russian athletes by the IOC.
   Finland - Prime Minister Juha Sipila
   France - President Emmanuel Macron, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and Minister of Sports Laura Flessel
   Canada - Governor General Julie Payette
   China - Politburo standing member Han Zheng
   Colombia - Vice President Óscar Naranjo
   Denmark - Crown Prince Frederick
   Estonia - President Kersti Kaljulaid
   Germany - President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
   Italy - Sports Minister of Italy Luca Lotti
   Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
   South Korea - President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, First Lady of the Republic of Korea Kim Jung-sook, President & CEO of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games Lee Hee-beom
   Latvia - President Andris Berzins
   Lithuania - President Dalia Grybauskaitė
   Kosovo - President Hashim Thaçi
   Luxembourg - Grand Duke Henri
   Malaysia - Prime Minister Najib Razak
   Monaco - Prince Albert II
   Netherlands - King Willem Alexander, Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte
   Norway - Prime Minister Erna Solberg
   North Korea - President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong-nam and Vice Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Yo-jong
   Poland - President Andrzej Duda
   Serbia - Minister of Youth and Sports Vanja Udovičić
   Slovakia - President Andrej Kiska
   Slovenia - President Borut Pahor
   Sweden - King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
   Switzerland - President Alain Berset
   Great Britain - Anne, Princess Royal
   United States - Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence
   United Nations - Secretary-General António Guterres
   International Olympic Committee - President Thomas Bach
  On 9 February 2018, Kim Yo-jong — sister of Kim Jong-un — attended the ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This was a first time that a member of the ruling Kim dynasty had visited South Korea since the Korean War. Kim Yo-jong shook hands with South Korean president Moon Jae-in before sitting down to watch the ceremony together.
caption: Kim Yo-jong attending the ceremony
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