Gyeongbuk Province to Hold 'Provincial Sports Festival' Events Separately Next Year... Adjusting Host Locations by Year

The photo shows a Chilseonnyeo holding the torch high after lighting the flame for the 57th Gyeongbuk Provincial Sports Festival on April 18 last year at Seongamsan, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk.

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Sports Council announced on the 31st that, considering the spread of COVID-19, the 59th Gyeongbuk Provincial Sports Festival, originally scheduled to be held in Uljin-gun next year, will be held in a distributed manner by sport.

Accordingly, the future host locations have been adjusted and decided as Pohang City in 2022 and Uljin-gun in 2023. Gyeongbuk Province explained that this decision for distributed hosting is a preemptive response to the WHO and health authorities' concerns about the continued spread of COVID-19.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, "It is very regrettable that the Provincial Sports Festival, which is the starting point of Gyeongbuk sports and confirms the unity of the residents, cannot be held normally due to COVID-19 and must be held in a distributed manner, but the safety of residents and athletes is the top priority," and urged, "To overcome the COVID-19 crisis, all residents should thoroughly follow quarantine rules in their workplaces and social activities."

Meanwhile, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Sports Festival is a regional sports competition where about 12,000 athletes from 23 cities and counties in the province compete in 28 sports (28 city competitions, 15 county competitions) divided into high school and general divisions. The host locations have been Pohang City in 2017, Sangju City in 2018, and Gyeongsan City in 2019, but this year's event was canceled due to COVID-19.

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