About 3,500 athletes from 212 countries are expected to participate in the IAAF World Championships, one of the top sports events in the world, a committee spokesman said.
"Under the ideologies of dream, passion and challenge, we will make all-out efforts to make IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011 an international sports event to realize coexistence, peace and prosperity of mankind through endless challenges," the spokesman said.
The goals of the Daegu championships are the realization of mankind's peace, the dream of prosperity, the global village's festival of fervor, creation of a new epoch for development of the world athletic sports, and colorful Daegu.
The committee also set "Sprint Together for Tomorrow" as the global athletic event's slogan to encourage more foreign athletes to participate in the Daegu championships.
"Since the historic decision of the IAAF Council to award Daegu the rights to host the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Mombasa, Kenya, on March 27, 2007, the organizing committee has exerted its best efforts to successfully host the championships," he said.
"The committee has four main objectives. Through the championships, we aspire to create a lasting athletics legacy in Korea and Asia. In addition, we will provide the most conducive training and competition facilities for all athletes. In conjunction with the IAAF Green Project, we hope to promote environmental preservation. Finally, we look forward to the colorful festivities in Daegu, amid the maximum security," said the spokesman.
Noting that Daegu is a thriving city and ready to welcome all participants and tourists to experience its rich history and culture, he said, "The championships will be a perfect platform for the most spectacular athletics performances and cultural exchange."
Daegu Stadium
The committee has upgraded the Daegu Stadium, the venue for the championships, which was originally built in May 2001, through repair works of light systems, track surfaces and sound facilities.
"The arch-roofed stadium, which hosted the 2002 World Cup and the 2003 Summer Universiade, has replaced its light and sound systems with the world's highest-class ones and had a new track surface to produce more records," the spokesman said.
"In addition, for the first time in the history of the World Championships, the athlete's village will be located seven minutes from the main stadium, which is being built to house 3,500 athletes and officials," he explained.
During the nine-day athletics meet, the committee also plans to organize a variety of cultural events "We are trying to introduce Daegu City to the world. The city has lots of annual festivals, such as operas, musicals and herbal medicine this year," he said, adding that huge interest from citizens is giving a major boost to the committee.
Citizen supporters
"The selected citizen supporters will engage in private-level diplomatic activities to herald beauty and kindness of Daegu and Korea to foreign athletes and tourists participating in the sports event," said the spokesman.
"As part of promoting the city's ability to successfully manage the international sports event, the committee also secured referees and event management agents who have enough experience in managing global-level athletic sports," he said.
Commenting that the committee has fixed the marathon course and the concrete schedule of the Daegu championships, he said, "We plan to make a final check on all preparations for the event, including lodging facilities, transportation means, necessary materials and marketing activities, through the IAAF-organized site visit to Daegu."
Furthermore, the committee has pushed for a variety of steps to check food and beverages and prevent the possible spread of epidemics during the event period. Also the committee is designating large hospitals, including Kyungpook National University Hospital, as the official hospital for the championships and building an interdisciplinary system between the medical institutions.
"For safety of the athletes, we will establish an access management system at the athletes' village and station security officers in shuttle buses for athletes," he said.
Daegu Athletics Promotion Center
Meanwhile, the committee has a master plan to keep strengthening the nation's athletics after the 2011 World Championships through an "Asian Tour."
"We are considering organizing athletic meets, visiting Osaka in Japan, Shanghai in China, and Daegu in Korea May 2012," he said, adding that all three cities have hosted annual athletic competitions.
"In addition, the Daegu Athletics Promotion Center is being built for completion in October 2012 in support from the government. It will be equipped with an indoor track & field and athletics academy. The 2011 international sports event is very important, but after that, continuous interest will play a key role in developing athletics in Korea,'' he said.
"The official mascot, called 'Sarbi,' is cute and friendly. It will bring good luck to the 2011 World Championships. The mascot's design is actually derived from 'Sapsalgae,' an indigenous canine breed that originated from the region around Daegu. Sapsalgae are very much loved by the Korean people, as they believe that the dog would bring them good luck and fortune, just as they would bless good fortune to the championships," he added.
