Cities in Chungcheong Province have launched a bid for the 2027 Summer World University Games, it has been announced ©KSOC

South Korea has entered the bidding to host the 2027 Summer World University Games after cities in Chungcheong Province confirmed they had come together to launch a campaign.

They are the second regional bid to enter the contest after North Carolina in the United States announced in February they wanted to host an event expected to feature more than 10,000 athletes from over 150 countries.

Local authorities in Sejong, Daejeon, South Chungcheong and North Chungcheong Province have teamed up for the joint bid and were officially chosen as the country’s candidate by the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee at a meeting in Seoul earlier this week.

"I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for us to host the Summer World University Games since it would be the only international sporting event to be held in Korea in almost 10 years since the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," North Chungcheong Province Governor Lee Si-Jong told The Korea Herald.  

Gangwon Province, including Pyeongchang, is also due to host the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, but that is a much smaller event with less than 2,000 athletes from under 100 countries.

Daejeon is one of four cities who have come together in Chungcheong Province to bid for the 2027 Summer World University Games ©Getty Images
Daejeon is one of four cities who have come together in Chungcheong Province to bid for the 2027 Summer World University Games ©Getty Images

Lee promised that the costs of hosting the event would be kept to a minimum as they would utilise existing facilities.

He claimed that the region has 33 sports venues capable of hosting events, 35 training facilities and enough accommodation for up to 40,000 visitors.

"Co-hosting can cut the heavy cost of building new facilities. It is in line with the FISU and International Olympic Committee’s core value, 'sustainability'," Lee told The Korea Herald.

If Chungcheong Province’s bid is successful, it would be the third time that South Korea has hosted the Summer World University Games.

They were previously staged in Daegu in 2003 and Gwangju in 2015 when they were known as the "Universiade".

A record 174 countries competed at Daegu 2003 and 12,885 athletes, also a record, at Gwangju 2015.

"We are aiming to become the host that holds the most countries and participants this time," Lee said.

A record number of athletes competed the last time South Korea hosted the Summer Universiade, as it was then called, at Gwangju in 2015 ©Getty Images
A record number of athletes competed the last time South Korea hosted the Summer Universiade, as it was then called, at Gwangju in 2015 ©Getty Images

Lee highlighted Chungcheong Province’s excellent transport links - it is less than two hours from Incheon International Airport to Daejeon on a high-speed KTX train.

It is planned that, following formal discussions with the South Korean Government in Seoul, the four cities will send an official letter of intent to the International University Sports Federation (FISU) by January 2022.

A host city is expected to be announced by FISU in January 2023.

It leaves FISU in a fantastic position with hosts already in place for the next three editions of the Summer Games.

Chengdu in China will host the next Summer World University Games in 2022 after they were postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

They are due to be followed by Yekaterinburg in Russia in 2023 and the Rhine-Ruhr region after the German bid was chosen to host in 2025 by FISU last month.

A factor in North Carolina’s favour could be that the US has not hosted the Summer Games since Buffalo in 1993 when they were opened by the country’s President Bill Clinton.

Lake Placid is, though, scheduled to stage the Winter World University Games in 2023.