Kaohsiung Mayor, Chen Chu Visits Tokyo to Promote The World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The Kaohsiung City Government has joined hands with the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee of the World Games 2009 to make an international announcement for the upcoming event at the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel in Shinjuku. Mayor Chen Chu travelled on Thursday March 5th from the International harbor city in the south of Taiwan, to present a personal letter of invitation to the people of Japan.

Placed in a bottle, and sealed with the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung logo, it is literally a "letter in a bottle" that capsules all the aspirations of this "ocean city." The Japanese media are heartily invited to relay the hospitality the people of Kaohsiung are ready to show to all Japanese visitors.

The Shinjuku event kicked off at 3pm, hosted by Mr. Segami, a well known Japanese citizen that has founded a deep relationship with the island while residing there over the past 20 years. Among the distinguished guests invited to the occasion were Ms. Ono Kiyoko, president of the JWGA (Japan World Games Association), Toyo Ito, who designed the World Games 2009's main stadium; Lin Ching-po, chairman of Fu Tsu Construction Co., Ltd. that built the stadium; Kunio Watanabe, consultant to Kaohsiung Arena's architectural structuring, and Fumio Morooka, executive director of the Japan World Games Association. Shunsuke Nagasaki and Masaki Ito, the Japanese duo who won gold medals for the men's trampoline event at the World Games 2009's gymnastic warm-up competitions at the end of 2008, also attended the event. Other than bearing witness to the architectural accomplishments of the World Games 2009's main stadium and Kaohsiung Arena, they felt the excitement shared by the international athletic community in anticipation of the Games itself scheduled to take place July 16-26 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Mayor Chen Chu said the World Games 2009, will gather more than 5,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries. She extended a hearty welcome to the people of Japan to join in the excitement expected in the 31 categories of contests, of which sumo, softball and gymnastics-as well as dance sports and sevens rugby-must prove of particular interest to them. What's more significant is that the Kaohsiung games will officially unveil two newly completed landmarks, the World Games 2009's main stadium and Kaohsiung Arena.

The main stadium of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung is a work designed by Toyo Ito, whose glories in the international architecture community includes the Architecture Institute of Japan Award for Silver Hut in 1986 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2002 Venice Biennale. He has a long list of masterpieces in his home country and Europe: Sendai Mediatheque and Tod's Omotesando Building in Japan, Relaxation Park in Torrevieja, Spain, and Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, just to name a few. The latest addition to the Japanese master's repertoire, the World Games 2009 main stadium is an extraordinary example of a melding of athleticism and architecture.

The horseshoe-shaped, open-top spiral structure, with its curved braces and buttresses, stands out as a unique design readily reminiscent of a flowing river. Natural ventilation makes air-conditioning redundant and the stadium has an average 3,300-lux of illumination as there are more solar panels installed on its roof than any other building in Taiwan. Its annual generation in excess of 1.1 million KW of electricity per hour means the earth can do without 660 tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Not only is the main stadium the first building in Taiwan to meet local criteria for green buildings, this stadium capable of seating 40,000 people is also the only outfit to be certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as a competent arena for international events. A well-appointed venue for sports competitions, a paradigm for energy conservation, and a great place for relaxation, this internationally acclaimed green building rightly stands on par with the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing.

A challenge to even the most sophisticated of builders, the Kaohsiung Arena is a mammoth structure made possible by drawing upon the expertise of Japanese consultant Kunio Watanabe. Above all, construction materials used on the Kaohsiung Arena are only half those for its counterpart in the capital city, the Taipei Arena. With a height of 40 meters, equivalent to six floors, it is a well-appointed modern stadium compliant with the criteria required of Olympic facilities. This 15,000-seat stadium is perfect for basketball, volleyball and 200-meter indoor athletics among others.

On behalf of the people of Kaohsiung, Mayor Chen Chu welcomed all Japanese friends with all her heart to join in the festivities during the July 16-26 World Games in her city. It will be an event marked by sustainability, human rights, unity and friendship. They not only give cheer to Japanese athletes but also take a look at the World Games 2009's main stadium and Kaohsiung Arena that have been accomplished with the assistance from Toyo Ito and Kunio Watanabe.

Mayor Chen Chu noted that Kaohsiung used to be known in the old days as "ta-kou" in the Fukienese dialect, and fate must have it that Kaohsiung-comprised of two Chinese characters-happens to be pronounced "ta-kao" in Japanese. She believed that this inexplicable linkage makes a perfect testament to a longstanding friendship and bodes well for a most successful World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung!

KYODO PR
Hiroko FUKUSHIMA
Account Manager Strategic Planning & Consulting Services
Tel: +81-3-3571-5302(TOKYO)