A synchronized swimming program was one of the events commemorating the anniversary of the birth of former leader Kim Jong-il on February 13, a holiday in North Korea called the Day of the Shining Star. Current leader Kim Jong-un was unable to attend the show at the Swimming Gymnasium on Chongun St. in Pyongyang, but Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea Ri Il-hwan, Vice-Premier of the Cabinet Kim Song-ryong, and Department Director of the Party Central Committee Ri Tu-song were among the officials present.
North Korean state media said the performers “represented the loyalty of the entire people yearning for Kim Jong Il who was born as the shining star of Mt. Paektu and rendered undying services to the protracted Juche revolution.”
Music for the opening routine was the song “The Dear Name”.