2018 PyeongChang Olympic Downtown Celebration Scheduled to Light up Downtown Colorado Springs

The 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Downtown Celebration will light up downtown Colorado Springs on Tejon Street & Pikes Peak Avenue from 5-10 p.m. on Friday, February 9. The celebration is a city-wide event that is FREE AND OPEN to the public to celebrate the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea and the 2018 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.Special thanks to the presenting and major sponsors of the event: City of Colorado Springs, United States Olympic Committee, El Pomar Foundation, Comcast/NBC Universal, KOAA, Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli, Downtown Partnership, and  Budweiser. 
"The Colorado Springs Sports Corp is proud to be part of another celebration involving our unique Olympic Family," said Special Projects Manager, Jeff Mosher, "and, thousands of our residents will enjoy a spectacular evening as the 240 athletes of the U.S. Olympic Team enter the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium." 
The Sports Corp is proud to announceEric Heiden, the greatest speed skater in history, will light the Olympic City USA cauldron during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Downtown Celebration on Friday, February 9. Special thanks to Steve Brunner of KOM Sports for securing Heiden's participation for the torch lighting. 

Heiden won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid. The Wisconsin native won the 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meter races over nine days. He was themost successful athlete at those Olympic Winter Games, single-handedly winning more gold medals than any nation except for the Soviet Union (10) and East Germany (9). He remains as the most successful athlete from a single edition of the Olympic Winter Games and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.

"I am honored to appear and light the Olympic Flame or the PyeongChang Winter Celebration in Colorado Springs,"said Heiden. "I remember my own Olympic experience as an athlete on home soil fondly. I never lose that special feeling when the Winter Games come around, so, I look forward to a slice of that Olympic spirit in Colorado come February."

In 1996, Heiden began an orthopedic medical career which continues today. He operates his owns a sports medicine and orthopedic clinic in Park City, Utah. He has served as chief physician for the U.S. Olympic Speed Skating teams in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. He was also named one of the top 50 athletes of the 20th Century by ESPN.

PyeongChang Olympic Downtown Celebration Schedule of Events, Friday, Feb. 9:

* Electric Block Party brought to you by Sam & Kathy Guadagnoli

* KOAA- TV live news broadcast

* Live Comcast/NBC Universal coverage of the PyeongChang Opening Ceremony on a jumbo screen

* Lighting of the Olympic City USA cauldron by 1980 Olympic hero Eric Heiden

* Korean performances - dance, music, drumming and sports

* Performances by the Jubilee Ensemble

* Comcast Activation Area

* Sport demonstration and booths

* Olympic and Paralympic athlete autographs 

* Kids activities, including community fun run TBA

* Warming Stations in the street

* Hot Chocolate Stations

* Special Recognition Ceremony for Olympic Ideals Award Winners from area elementary schools*

* Budweiser Beer Garden and Ice Bar (courtesy of the Cripple Creek Ice Festival)

*Each pair of Olympic Ideals Award winners from participating schools will be assigned an escort-- an Olympian, Paralympian, or Olympic Training Center Resident  Athlete for a special Torch Run. Following the torch lighting by Eric Heiden, the award winners and their escorts will be recognized from 5:30 to 6:00 pm on the Comcast/NBC Universal stage, located on Tejon St, just north of the Colorado Avenue intersection, in front of the United States Olympic Committee's headquarters.

For more information, visit: www.pyeongchang2018.com, www.coloradospringssports.org