World Games opening ceremony, competitions broadcast worldwide

Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) Board Director Liu Shih-fang made the statement at a news conference that was also attended by Ron Froehlich, president of the International World Games Association.

"The number of people watching the competitions in the stadiums has also been increasing steadily, " Liu said, adding that total ticket sales were expected to break the 200,000 mark later in the day.

As of Tuesday, a total of 180,000 tickets had been sold for the various World Games events, Liu reported.

Moreover, she said, an additional 1,000 tickets for the closing ceremony scheduled for July 26 that were put up for sales noon Wednesday were sold out in 30 minutes.

Tickets for the closing ceremony at the Kaohsiung Main Stadium had been sold out before the event opened last Thursday. As many people have shown keen interest in attending the ceremony, Liu said the KOC tried to reorganize the space allocated to performance groups so as to open up more seats for spectators.

According to Liu, the glittering World Games opening ceremony was broadcast on five local TV channels, with a combined audience rating of 4.87 percent which translated into about 5 million viewers.

In addition, media groups in 20 other countries also aired the opening ceremony, Liu said, adding that Russian TV stations have so far broadcast five sporting events, including rhythmic gymnastics and dance sports.

Major Chinese TV stations, including China Central Television, Shanghai Television and Guangdong Television, have also broadcast the World Games contests on 11 occasions, Liu said.

European TV stations have shown the bowling and korfball events and Brazil has broadcast the roller skating competitions, while ESPN Asia has been airing a 30-minute highlight daily that features fascinating excerpts of various sporting competitions, she said.

As of Wednesday, Liu said, 489 local journalists and 126 foreign media professionals have been accredited to cover the World Games.

"Both the local and foreign media have given prominent coverage to the event," she added.

The World Games, the first large-scale international sports extravaganza ever to take place in Taiwan, opened July 16, with more than 3,000 athletes from around 100 countries competing in 31 non-Olympic sports. The event will run through July 26.

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