Without the pressure of racking up points to land on the medal podium, the figure skating exhibition gala is a chance for the athletes to express themselves. There aren’t rules about jumping sequences, and instead, skaters can use props and silly concepts, if they want.
Figure skaters who win medals at the Olympics are typically among the invite list, plus up-and-coming skaters from the host country and other fan favorites.
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Here are some of the best performances of the evening:
Ice dance bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani reprised last season’s “That’s Life” short dance by Frank Sinatra featuring Jay-Z for this year’s exhibition.
Bronze medalist Javier Fernandez takes audiences to “Aerobics Class.” The first-ever skating medalist from Spain is known as his alter-ego “Super Javi.”
It wouldn’t be true to the host country if there weren’t performances to K-Pop. Check out South Korean ice dancers Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin and pairs team Kyueung Kim and Alex Kam both skating to songs from 2NE1, plus other skaters choosing K-Pop songs:
China’s Jin Boyang finished fourth at the Olympics and skated his exhibition to last season’s fan-favorite short program – “Spider-Man” by Michael Buble.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, ice dance gold medalists, choreographed their own program to “Long Time Running” by The Tragically Hip after the passing of beloved Canadian Gord Downie.
Ladies’ gold medalist Alina Zagitova performed her “Priestess of Fire” exhibition, which included a fake candle prop glowing on the ice.
Two-time men’s Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan closed the show with his performance to “Notte Stellata.”