Daegu to host summer Universiad

The city of Daegu has been selected as a venue for the 2003 Summer Universiad, the largest sports festival of college students around the world.

Daegu succeeded in hosting the Summer Universiad in 2003 at the executive committee of FISU, which was held July 14 at Shangrilla Hotel in Beijing. The city beat Turkey`s Izmir, which was backed by most European countries.

The number of votes the two cities obtain was not disclosed. But Daegu, with its complete game facilities in addition to its cultural heritage of nearby Kyungju, outplayed Izmir that features Byzantine culture.

At a point, Daegu once almost abandoned hosting the international sports games because Korea was faced with economic crisis. But, it challenged again in the contest of selecting a host city of the game. In 1997, Korea`s Muju-Chonju played hosts to the 1997 Winter Universiad. So, Korea will become a country to host both summer and winter Universiad.

Meanwhile, Italy`s Tarvisio has been selected as host city for the 2003 Winter Universiad.