Opening ceremony to combine tradition and technology

DAEGU, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- The opening ceremony for the upcoming World Championships in Athletics will combine elements of traditional Korean culture and the latest information technology, organizers said Monday.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Daegu Stadium. It will kick off the nine-day competition, the signature event for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
According to organizers, the ceremony will be composed of five phases: "moeum" (coming together), "dadeum" (smoothing), "kkaeum" (awakening), "dotum" (sprinting) and "tteuium" (setting afloat).
IAAF President Lamine Diack and other sports luminaries will enter the stadium to the rhythmical beat of Korean wooden bats on cloth-covered stone blocks. After Diack declares the opening of the competition, athletes and officials will march in to get the ceremony going in earnest.
The ceremony will culminate with the playing of a commemorative video for Sohn Kee-chung, a Korean native who won the 1936 Olympic marathon gold medal while representing Japan during Japanese colonial rule. Classical musical performances and an interactive media art show will follow, organizers said.
Fireworks will also celebrate the official beginning of the world championships.
"We will present the relentless willpower of athletics and the progress of Korea and the city of Daegu in a beautiful cultural package," said Lee Do-hoon, director of the opening ceremony. He also organized the presidential inauguration in 2008 and the opening ceremony of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
"This ceremony won't be on such a large scale because a competitive event has to follow immediately (at 8 p.m.), but it won't disappoint the crowd," Lee added.
Organizers said some 44,000 tickets, other than invitations, have sold out for the opening ceremony.