In just over an hour, this empty field will be full of 43,000 Scouts from around the world for the opening ceremonies of the 25th World Scout Jamboree!
About 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries
are set to begin full participation in educational and cultural exchange
programs of the 25th World Scout Jamboree on Wednesday, with the
opening ceremony taking place in the Saemangeum Reclaimed Area on the
southwestern Korean coast in the evening.
Amid
a scorching heat wave sweeping across the nation, the opening ceremony
is set to start at 8 p.m. at the jamboree campground, about 180 km south
of Seoul, featuring welcome and opening speeches by dignitaries,
performances by a Scout orchestra and British survival expert Bear
Grylls, and a light show using 500 drones.
The
world jamboree, dubbed the "cultural Olympics for youth," kicked off in
the Saemangeum area Tuesday and the opening ceremony is the first event
where all participants gather together.
With
as many as 43,000 people to be packed into the opening ceremony venue,
covering 46,200 square meters, the authorities and the organizing
committee are to make all-out efforts to prevent accidents.
The ceremony venue will be divided into 16
zones and about 500 safety workers and police will be deployed in key
locations, while participants will be led to enter and leave
sequentially along the control lines, according to officials at the
organizing committee.
This
year's unusually hot summer weather is expected to pose an
unpredictable factor for the rare international event, as a heat wave
advisory has been issued for 14 North Jeolla Province areas, including
Saemangeum, and the sweltering heat is expected to continue through Aug.
11, when the closing ceremony will be held.
The maximum sensible temperature is forecast to soar to 35 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Saemangeum
already experienced a tropical night Tuesday, with the nighttime low
staying above 25 degrees. As many as 19 people suffered from
heat-related illnesses at the jamboree campground on the first day.
The
organizing committee said it will take all possible measures to protect
young Scouts from the heat wave and tropical nights. It has installed
1,722 shade shelters and 57 vine tunnels with cooling features, and
designated half a dozen places, including an indoor gym and a sports
park, as emergency shelters.
If
the severe heat wave continues, 300 shuttle buses that can accommodate
12,000 people and the Global Youth Leader Center, where the organizing
committee is located and about 3,000 people can be housed, will be used
as temporary shelters, it noted.
The
World Scout Jamboree is held every four years, and this is the second
world jamboree hosted by Korea after the first one in Goseong, Gangwon
Province, in 1991. The event is intended to provide opportunities for
young Scouts to learn about different cultures and build friendships
through outdoor camping and cultural activities.
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