President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday touted Taipei’s success in winning the right to host the 2017 Summer Universiade and said he expected the second-largest global sports event after the Olympics to boost the country’s international reputation in sports.
Taipei beat Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, in December last year to secure the right to host the event.
The 12-day games will be the largest international event hosted in Taipei since the Summer Deaflympics in 2009 and the Taipei International Flora Expo in 2010.
Photo: CNA
In celebration of Taipei’s victory and to inspect sports venues for the games, International University Sports Federation (FISU) chairman Claude-Louis Gallien, who is currently heading a delegation on a trip to Taiwan, joined Ma and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in a contract-signing ceremony for the games.
Addressing those attending the ceremony, Ma expressed excitement about Taipei being awarded the right to host the event and stressed his administration’s efforts to improve cross-strait relations, which he said helped Taiwan gain more international exposure.
“Taiwan faces great -difficulties in its attempts to participate in international sporting events because of complicated political realities. However, thanks to improvements in cross-strait relations and the great performance of Taiwanese athletes, the world now sees us differently. I believe hosting the 2017 Summer Universiade is certain to boost the country’s sports diplomacy,” he said.
Hau yesterday shared his pride at Taipei being awarded the right to host the Universiade by saying that having failed on four occasions over the past 14 years to secure the event, the city cherished its victory even more and would devote all its effort to staging a successful games.
Gallien congratulated Taipei on its victory and expressed confidence in Taiwan’s ability to make the 2017 Universiade the most -successful ever.
The Universiade, an international sporting event for university students, is the second-largest sports event after the Olympics in terms of member nations and the number of participating athletes, government officials said.
According to International Sports Department Director Rey Chou (周瑞), the central government and the Taipei City Government would share the NT$800 million (US$27 million) option premium.
The city government will draft a NT$39.5 billion budget for the event, with more than NT$12 billion to be used for the construction of six new facilities, including the Taipei Dome, a basketball court, tennis courts, a swimming pool, two stadiums and an athletes’ village.
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