2018 Winter Olympics: What is today's Google Doodle and how long will the Snow Games continue?

Day one begins with a magpie swooping down on Google's logo, before a tobogganing penguin and a skiing dog appear

The search giant marked the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympics (Google)

The opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics got underway on Friday morning and there is a new Google Doodle to mark the occasion.

Nearly 3,000 athletes from across the globe have descended on Pyeongchang in South Korea for nearly three weeks of competition in disciplines like speed skating, bobsleigh and biathlon.

The event is particularly notable as athletes from North and South Korea will parade together under a united Korean flag, the first time they have done so since the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

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Lizzy Yarnold, a gold medallist four years ago, was to lead out Great Britain’s contingent on the day.

Google‘s Doodle also marks the opening day of the search giant’s Snow Games.

The company will release a new animated clip every day featuring animals performing wintry feats of skill. Google said the series will continue “every day for the next few weeks”.

Friday’s Doodle begins with a magpie swooping down on Google’s logo, before a tobogganing penguin and a skiing dog appear.

The Pyeongchang opening ceremony began with a round of sparkling fireworks exploding just above a seemingly delighted North Korean delegation.

With taekwondo demonstrations from both Koreas, the South is putting on a show for the world that is intended to display a newfound desire to cooperate with the North along with Seoul’s stunning rise from poverty and war to Asian powerhouse.

Pyeongchang is a mountainous area in the country’s north-east, just 50 miles from the border with the North.

The five-sided 35,000-seat stadium cost about $100m (£72m) to build, but its primary use is for only four events – the opening and closing ceremonies for both the Olympics and Paralympics. Afterward, it will be torn down and the site will be rebuilt with a museum and leisure facilities.

The entire Pyeongchang Olympics could cost South Korea up to 14 trillion won (£9.3bn). It is hosting the games for the first time since 1988, when Seoul was the home of the summer games.

Additional reporting by agencies