South Korea counts down to hosting of Summer Universiade

The city of Gwangju, the sixth largest in South Korea, is fast approaching its hosting of the 28th Summer Universiade, from 3rd to 14th July.

The Summer Universiade, the largest global sporting festival for the university sport sector, is open to students aged between 17 and 28 who are attending a university or graduate school, or who are graduating this year. Past Universiade’s have been a gateway to sporting with 48% of Olympic medallists having earned a medal at a Universiade earlier in their careers.

Set to present the opportunity to watch young sports stars show off their best, Summer Universiade Gwangju is being in Gwangju and across Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province) and Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla Province).

The Gwangju Universiade Organising Committee (GUOC) has advised that event will attract 20,000 athletes, judges and organisers from 170 countries competing in 21 sporting disciplines, featuring 13 regular sports including track and field or swimming, along with eight optional sports, including badminton, archery and taekwondo.

Participating athletes in the biennial event will compete for a total of 272 gold medals during the 12-day event.

Gwangju, which will also hosts the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, has built three new venues for the event: the Nambu University International Aquatics Centre, the Kwangju Women's University Universiade Gymnasium and the Gwangju International Archery Centre. Track and field events and the Universiade’s opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium.

The Kwangju Women's University Universiade Gymnasium (above) and the Nambu University International Aquatics Centre (below) have been built for the 28th Summer Universiade Gwangju.

Summer Universiade Gwangju will also feature a range of non-sporting events for the young athletes participating in the Universiade. After 10 years of construction Gwangju’s Asian Culture Complex will get a temporary ‘soft’ opening for two months before its official opening in September. A variety of other events will also be held on the eve of the Universiade and a range of exhibitions and performances will take place for athletes and visitors to the city.

A Universiade Park has also been built near the north gate of the Gwangju World Cup Stadium so that young people from across the globe can enjoy the various cultures of the participating nations. .

Significantly, GUOC recently announced that North Korea will send a team of 108 people, composed of 75 athletes and 35 staff members, to the upcoming event. They will take part in six individual events - track and field, diving, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis and judo - and two group events - handball and women’s football.

North Korea has sent a delegation to attend every summer Universiade Games over the past 10 years.

Welcoming the participation, GUOC stated “as this year marks the 70th anniversary of both independence and the division of the Korean Peninsula, we hope both Koreas can contribute to boosting inter-Korean exchanges through sport by hosting the upcoming event together.”

Top image: The Gwangju World Cup Stadium is the main venue for the 28th Summer Universiade Gwangju.

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