Gwangju City to Promote Hosting of the 2025 World Archery Championships

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 29th that it is pursuing the hosting of the international event, the ‘World Archery Championships.’

This competition is organized by the World Archery Federation (WA) and is held every two years, rotating across continents. It features individual, team, and mixed team events in both recurve and compound categories, typically attracting a large-scale participation of around 80 to 100 countries.

South Korea previously hosted the event in 2009 in Ulsan Metropolitan City, and the 2021 and 2023 editions were decided to be held in Yankton, USA, and Berlin, Germany, respectively.

Accordingly, Gwangju, which has an international standard archery range and has produced famous archers, plans to host the 2025 competition to enhance its brand value as a sports city.

Gwangju has been in continuous preliminary consultations with the Korea Archery Association to host the World Archery Championships. Given that Gwangju, equipped with optimal infrastructure from the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade facilities, hopes to host the 2025 event, the association has expressed willingness to actively cooperate, making the hosting feasible.

Going forward, once Gwangju and the Korea Archery Association discuss and submit the bid application to the World Archery Federation, an on-site inspection will follow, and the host city for the 2025 event is expected to be decided by September at the earliest.

Gwangju has elevated its status as an international sports city by successfully hosting world-class sports events such as the ‘2015 Summer Universiade’ and the ‘2019 World Swimming Championships.’

Additionally, in the second half of this year, Gwangju plans to host the ‘Asian Cup Archery Championships,’ supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, further enhancing its reputation as an advanced sports city.

The Gwangju International Archery Range was newly constructed to host the archery events of the 2015 Summer Universiade. It covers a total floor area of 3,201㎡ and a site area of 45,396㎡, consisting of a two-story building with 1,077 spectator seats and an outdoor stadium with 580 seats.

In 2019, it served as a training camp for national teams from China, Japan, and France, demonstrating its excellent infrastructure.

Moreover, the Gwangju International Archery Range is the only urban archery range in South Korea. Leveraging this advantage, it is expected to contribute to the local economy by actively utilizing regional businesses for accommodation, meals, and transportation for athletes and officials.

Kim Jun-young, Director of the Cultural Tourism and Sports Office of Gwangju City, said, “We will closely cooperate with the Korea Archery Association to secure the hosting of the 2025 event,” adding, “Gwangju will build a global sports MICE city and Gwangju brand befitting its reputation as South Korea’s archery city.”

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