Seongnam City, Why Was the 'Citizen Sports Festival' Canceled for Two Consecutive Years?

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has canceled the citizen sports festival scheduled for October to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the city's elevation due to the impact of COVID-19. Last year, Seongnam City also did not hold the citizen sports festival to participate in preventing the spread of African swine fever.

The city announced on the 30th that this decision was made to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of citizens.

The city explained that holding a sports festival with the participation of about 20,000 people is not desirable while the government maintains the COVID-19 crisis alert at the 'serious' level.

It was also considered that it would be difficult to follow quarantine guidelines such as social distancing in daily life due to the nature of the event.

The citizen sports festival is a celebration of Seongnam citizens, held with athletes and local residents from the three districts of Sujeong, Jungwon, and Bundang, participating in events such as athletics, tug-of-war, and gateball.

A city official said, "It is regrettable to cancel the sports festival, which is a place for the unity and harmony of Seongnam citizens, but this decision was made prioritizing citizen safety amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.