GWANGJU – The Emblem and Mascot of the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade have been unveiled, at a ceremony at the Plaza Hotel, Sogong district, Seoul, on April 26th. The emblem ‘Wings of Light’ and the mascot ‘Nooribi’ were presented at the event by 2015 Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee Chair, Mr. Ui-hwa Chung.
About 200 people attended the event, from various fields such as politics, economics, and sports, as well as university volunteers, to celebrate the birth of the new emblem and mascot. Some distinguished guests included Mr. Gianni Merlo, President of AIPS (International Sports Press Association), Mr. Young-hwan Kim, Vice-minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr. Jong-ryang Kim, FISU Executive Committee member and Mr. Gi-jin Song, Chief Executive of Kwangju Bank.
Ui-hwa Chung, Chair of the 2015 Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee said that:“We are looking forward to seeing nationwide support to make the 2015 Gwangju Universiade become legendary.”
AIPS President Gianni Merlo also talked of his expectations. “Gathering the world’s young generation for this sports festival in Gwangju, the cradle of Korean democracy, will promote the culture of peace and mutual understanding”, he said. “This valuable message will be spread with this appropriate emblem named Wings of Light.”
‘Wings of Light’ and ‘Nooribi’ represent Competition, Passion and Harmony
The newly revealed emblem “Wings of Light” is shaped like a “U”, the symbol of the Universiade, extended to appear as outspread wings, representing going beyond boundaries:as athletes go beyond their personal boundaries through competition, the event overcomes national boundaries by uniting people from all over the world together in harmony and understanding, in keeping with the ethos of Gwangju, city of light. The wings also represent the five great oceans and six continents of the globe, and the overlapping light shows the warm harmony and friendship of the world’s young generation who will meet at the Universiade.
The mascot ‘Nooribi’ is the messenger of light which acts as a bridge of communication amongst the world’s young generation. It is a symbolic mascot to introduce the ‘EPIC’ vision of the Gwangju Universiade:Environmentally-friendly, Peace, IT and Culture. It also represents the unfolding wings of creation which will deliver the light of Gwangju to the world. The emblem and mascot together form a consistent image of light representing Gwangju.
Special Guests
With Gwangju being the hub city ofAsianculture, the launch ceremony for the new emblem and mascot featured various cultural performances, including new works by renowned multimedia artist Lee-nam Lee. He showcased new media art, titled “Art Meets Sports”, with the theme of the Universiade, which utilized images of classic art masterpieces in conjunction with the Universiade emblem.
In addition, former national basketball player Ji-won Woo, and actressBo-raNam, were named as Publicity Ambassadors for the Universiade. Ji-won Woo, who competed in the Universiade twice and won a silver medal, andBo-raNam, who is known for her challenging spirit, were chosen as publicity ambassadors since both of them have the right image for the Universiade. Ji-won Woo gave a presentation to introduce the new emblem and conducted a mascot runway parade withBo-raNam.
“Through the 2015 Gwangju Universiade, the city itself has planned various heritage programs, such as developing a university textbook on Anti-Doping, the Declaration of Youth Human Rights, and the formation of a unified North and South Korean athletes’ team, which could be monumental worldwide,” said Mr. Un-tae Kang, Mayor of Gwangju City. “This public launch of the Universiade emblem will be a good start towards successfully hosting the event, and will also attract national support from all overKorea.”
The 28th Summer Universiade will be held in Gwangju city for 12 days in early July 2015. Approximately 20,000 athletes are expected to compete across events in 21 sports. Gwangju city successfully won the right to host the event in 2009 and since the Organizing Committee was established in 2010, it has been working hard on the necessary facilities and public relations. Of note, through the event concept, EPIC (Environmentally-friendly, Peace, IT and Culture), the Gwangju Universiade has received positive feedback on its economic and efficient preparation procedures, in particular in minimizing investment on new facilities.
(Source: GUOC 2015)
Publicity Ambassadors basketball player Ji-won Woo & actress Bo-ra Nam
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