Forty nations with 800 athletes will take part in 15 sports in the Winter Games based around Queenstown over the next 10 days.
It is one of the biggest winter sports events outside the Olympics.
The event opens today with the Opening Ceremony festivities in Queenstown.
The action starts tomorrow at The Remarkables with the freeski slopestyle and continues through the week with snowboarding, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, freeskiing, curling, ice hockey, figure skating, winter triathlon and natural luge.
