Gwangju Universiade Countdown Begins

In March 25, Gwangju began its 100-day countdown to the 28th Summer Universiade 2015. The Gwangju 2015 Universiade Organizing Committee (GUOC) kicked off the countdown with a series of promotional events in Seoul and Gwangju.

As a part of raising awareness for the upcoming games, Gwangju launched a nationwide promotional tour. The promotional team is planning to tour eight more major cities around the country, which include Seoul, Busan, and Daegu in the run-up to the games.

At Seoul Plaza, in front of Seoul City Hall, the GUOC unveiled a 10-meter-high tower promoting the Gwangju Universiade on Wednesday, March 25. The tower will remain in the heart of the capital until the end of the games.

Later that day, the GUOC organized a fashion show at Shilla Hotel in Seoul, introducing uniforms for the volunteers, officials and torch-bearers, which showcased 84 items of sportswear and formal attire.

Gwangju is also proudly known as “Ecoversiade” by minimizing new construction projects and its carbon footprint. Only three out of 70 facilities used during the games are newly built while the other 67 existing venues are under renovation.

“One of the main goals of the 2015 Gwangju Universiade is to minimize the cost while maximizing efficiency for an economically and environmentally friendly event,” said Kim Yoon-suk, GUOC Secretary General.

The GUOC is also planning to host test events in a variety of functional areas, such as medical services, field of play, timing and scoring, etc. Sixteen sports, including swimming, athletics, tennis, archery, basketball and fencing will take place in the newly built and refurbished venues from April to June.

In the lead-up to the Universiade, the draws for team sports will take place from April 11 to April 15 at the Heads of Delegation (HOD) Meeting. The draws for basketball, volleyball, water polo, football, baseball and handball will take place on Monday, April 13. Representatives from the participating nations, along with their counterparts from FISU and the organizing committee, will attend the HOD Meeting, hosted by the International University Sports Ferdation (FISU) and organized by the GUOC.

Gwangju is the third city from the Republic of Korea to host a Universiade. Muju and Jeonju co-hosted the Winter Universiade in 1997, and Daegu held the Summer Universiade in 2003.