SHENZHEN, host of the 2011 Universiade, will officially unveil the 1,000-day countdown to the games next month.
A ceremony to mark the countdown will be held in the latter half of November, the organizing committee said at a preparatory meeting Monday, without specifying the exact date.
A series of celebrations will follow in the next week, including a Universiade cultural festival, the official announcement of the games mascots, a smiling contest and a mass walking race, to popularize the games and increase residents’ enthusiasm about sports, the committee said.
Mayor Xu Zongheng, who chaired the meeting, urged the committee and related departments to accelerate construction of Universiade venues.
Shenzhen will host the 26th Summer Universiade in 2011 from Aug. 8 to 18. In January last year, the city was chosen over four candidates — Kaohsiung of Chinese Taipei, Poznan of Poland, Kazan of Russia and Murcia of Spain, to host the games. Around 15,000 athletes, coaches and sports officials from more than 180 countries and regions will gather here.
The Universiade has 10 compulsory sports — track and field, water sports (swimming, diving and water polo), basketball, soccer, fencing, gymnastics, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
For detailed information on recruitment, please visit the 2011 Universiade Web site: www.sz2011.org.
(Mu Zi)