The figure skating exhibition gala is always one of the highlights of the Winter Olympics. The 2018 version in Pyeongchang should be no different, with some incredible performers to rely on for a fantastic evening.
What we do know is that Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir will be back at it, hosting the event on NBC.
We also know that the Canadian ice dancing pair of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will perform to The Tragically Hip’s ‘Long Time Running’ to honor the deceased Gord Downie, who passed away last October. Virtue and Moir won two gold medals during these Winter Olympic Games.
And Outsports has confirmed that gold medalist Eric Radford and skating partner Meagan Duhamel will be skating in the gala. The pair won two Olympic medals and skated four times in competition at these Winter Olympics.
Of course the other obvious choice would have been fan favorite Adam Rippon, who seemed to own these Olympics with his personality. Yet Rippon will not be skating in the gala, according to USA Today. If he had skated to his own cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” it would have broken new ground in the Olympics and been a huge success on TV and social media. Instead, according to USA Today, he wasn’t selected.
While we haven’t confirmed that Belgium’s Jorik Hendrickx won’t be skating, he is a long shot to skate in the gala, though it’s possible he could have been selected to do a performance with his sister, Olympian Leona Hendrickx.
Tune into NBC Saturday night to see what should be a series of fun, wonderful performances.
