‘We have felt the strong passion from the people of Gwangju yesterday at our arrival', FISU Vice-President and Chair of the Evaluation Commtitee for the 2013 Summer Universiade Stefan Bergh said at his opening speech of the first day working session in Gwangju, Korea, one of the three candidates to host the 2013 Summer Universiade. ‘It was a unique welcome by so many people', Mr. Bergh said, alluding to the thousands of people who greeted the committee members at the airport and who were lined up along the road from the airport to the hotel where the FISU delegates are staying.
For day 1 of their evaluation tour, the FISU delegates started with a visit of the National Cemetery for the May 18th 1980 Uprising, a student protest that started the democratic movement in Korea. The FISU delegates paid tribute to the students killed during this uprising.
After this emotional visit, the FISU delegates went to the Kim Dae-Jung Convention center where Mr. Lee Hee Beom, the chairman of the Bidding Committee welcomed them for a video presentation introducing the city of Gwangju.
After the lunch break, the Gwangju OC gave a thorough presentation of their city. Gwangju is considered as the berth of Korean democracy, due to the May 18th, 1980 uprising and counts 16 universities with a total of 414,239 students. It is a hub city of the south-western part of the Korean peninsula, a center of cultural arts and the home of former Korean president and Noble Prize winner Kim Dae-Jung. Major industries of the city are electronics, automobile and photonics industry.
In the afternoon session, Ms. Te Il Young gave a presentation on the general concept of the Universiade in Gwangju.
Then the floor was given to Mr. Kim Youn Suk, Vice-Mayor of Gwangju. The Vice-Mayor elaborated on the Political Aspect of hosting the Games assuring the full support of the government, stressing the fact that all major political parties, government agencies as well as various political organisations are behind the bid. In particular, 95 % of Gwangju citizens are eagerly rooting for the 2013 Games, Furthermore there is no opposition from non-governmental organizations. In fact, many NGOs, including the environmental NGO, have expressed their active support and participation. Mr. Kim also stressed the fact that the organisation of the Games will not be influenced by the time schedule of political elections.
The Gwangju OC also confirmed visa issue fee exemption for all participants of the Universiade, as well as streamlined costumes for special lugages such as audio-visual, medical supplies, computer equipment etc.
The Vice-Mayor also outlined his city's and country's experience in successfully hosting various international sports events such as the Asian Games (1986), Olympic Games (1988), Winter Universiade (1997), FIFA World Cup (2002) and Summer Universiade (2003).
As far as transportation is concerned, Gwangju will utilize the two adjacent airports – Incheon, Seoul and Gwangju - as the main transportation hubs. Moreover, with the KTX, the Korean version of the French TGV, and the express highway network, the Koreans will be able to provide convenient transportation methods.
In the evening the FISU delegates were invited by Mr. Park, the Mayor of Gwangju for a welcoming dinner and afterwards they participated in the Citizen's Festival for the Universiade which took place on 5.18 Plaza in the city centre. There, once again the FISU delegates noticed the commitment of the citizen's of Gwangju to host the Games. The Evaluation Committee members witnessed a taekwondo performance and a cultural drum show where they were invited on stage to participate.
Tomorrow, day 2 of the Evaluation visit, will consist primarily of venue visits.
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2013,
2013하계유니버시아드,
FISU,
Gwangju,
Universiade,
광주,
광주광역시,
국제도시,
대학생,
박광태,
서명운동,
아시아문화중심도시,
유니버시아드,
유치,
유치기원,
유치활동,
첫날일정,
평가단첫일정,
평가첫날
