The sixth Military World Games kicked off Friday evening with a grand opening ceremony in Mungyeong, a city in the central part of South Korea. (Photo : YouTube/CCTV)
No stranger to hosting world events, China has already begun preparing for the seventh Military World Games which will be held in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei Province. This is the first time that the country will be hosting the said event.
The Chinese military formally launched the start of the preparations with the establishment of the event's organizing committee in Beijing on Thursday.
"This will be the first time for China to host an international multi-sport games for military sports people, and the country will strive to make it an event with Chinese characteristics," said Zheng He of the Central Military Commission during the committee founding conference. He added that local governments and non-government forces are involved in the hosting.
Organized by the International Military Sports Council (IMSC), the Military World Games is held every four years since 1995.
The council currently has 135 member countries that participate in the various sporting events to promote the message of peace to the whole world.
The very first Military World Games were held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the ratification of the United Nations Organization Charter.
The mega city of Wuhan has already proven itself as a first-class sport venue to hold such an event. During the presentation for the hosting bid four years ago, Chinese military delegation head Ma Kaiping said that the country is capable of making the event a success because it already has a rich experience in holding major sports events such as the 2008 Olympic Games, the 2011 Universiade, and the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games.
Aside from the promotion of sportsmanship, China also looks forward to getting other opportunities during the event.
"China hopes the event will be an opportunity for enhancing exchanges between armed forces around the globe, boosting the development of sports for military people and strengthening international influence of the country and Chinese military," said Zheng.
With its exemplary hosting of major sports events in the previous years, there is no doubt that China will have the rest of the world anticipating of surprises it might have in store for the 2019 Military World Games.
