June 30, 2004
Kaohsiung City has won its bid to host the 2009 World Games, signing a contract on June 14 to host the world's second-largest international sports tournament with officials from the International World Games Association (IWGA). Taiwan's holding of the the Eighth World Games, scheduled to take place in Kaohisung from July 16 to July 26 in 2009 with nearly 100 countries and 3,000 athletes taking part, is expected to raise the quality of domestic sports and encourage tourism, while also bringing global media spotlight on Taiwan and Kaohsiung. It will also spur local business development as the Kaohisung City Government will invest NT$7.8 billion to build a multifunctional Sports Dome for the World Games, which is slated to be completed in 2006, the same year the city's new MRT system is to go online.
The IWGA was founded in 1980 and the World Games is held once every four years. It is now the world's second-largest international sporting event after the Olympics. The World Games cover more than 30 sports that are not included in the Olympic Games.
Taiwan has consistently sent delegations to take part in the World Games since its inception. In the 6th World Games held in the Japanese city of Akita in 2001, Taiwan ranked 13th among the 87 participating countries or areas in terms of medal count, surpassing China. The 7th World Games will be held in Duisburg, Germany in 2005.
Thirty-one official sporting events, including bodybuilding, life-saving, billiards, bowling, water skiing, tug of war, rock climbing and so forth, are currently plannned for the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. Three invitational sport events including Tchoukball, croquet and dragon boat racing will also be added in 2009. Unlike the Olympics, the athletes who participate in the World Games are introduced during the opening ceremony according to their event, not their nationality. (Taipei Times, CNA, Agencies)
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