Korea will get to host one of the world's top sporting events for the first time in almost a decade next month when the biannual IAAF World Championships in Athletics descends on the southeastern city of Daegu from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.

A total of 2,472 athletes from 207 member nations of the International Association of Athletics Federations will compete to make it the largest-ever tournament of its kind. Five IAAF member countries, including North Korea, will not participate.

Legends in the making such as Beijing Olympics gold medalist Usain Bolt of Jamaica and long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia are sure to make the event a runaway success.

Bolt blew away his competition in the Chinese capital three years ago in the blue-ribbon 100m by setting a new world record of 9.58 seconds, but he has not posted the fastest time this season. Meanwhile, Bekele has already picked up three Olympic gold medals and five titles at the World Championships in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events.

The line-up of stars in Korea will also include pole-vaulter and pin-up Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who has racked up 27 world records in her impressive career.

It has been nine years since Korea co-hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup with Japan and over two decades since Seoul welcomed the world's Olympians to the second Summer Games held in Asia. Pyeongchang secured the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics last week but still has seven years to wait, while Daegu, Korea's fourth-largest city, only has seven weeks left on the clock.

In terms of the number of athletes competing, the size of the TV audience and the potential economic benefits Korea can reap, the world's top athletics meet is a great opportunity for the country to demonstrate its prowess at putting together a world-class show.

From its inaugural competition in Helsinki, Finland, in 1983 until the latest meet in Berlin, Germany, in 2009, nine out of 12 editions of the World Championships have been held in Europe, with Finland and Germany each hosting it twice. North America has only staged it once, when Canada took the reigns in 2001.

◆ Daegu Ready

A total of 2,101 athletes from 201 countries competed in the previous edition in Berlin, whereas the number registered for Daegu is already over 10 percent higher, and more athletes could put their names on the list. They will compete for gold medals in 47 sports events, excluding the group marathon, and their share of US$7.33 million in total prize money.

The men's 100 m will take place at Daegu Stadium on Aug. 28, the second day of the competition, while the men's marathon will be held on Sept. 4, the final day. Daegu Stadium, which passed the IAAF's evaluation in May and was given a Class-1 rating, has been equipped with state-of-the-art lighting, displays and sound systems.

The athletes' village, which is just a 10-minute drive from the main stadium, contains nine buildings that can accommodate 3,500 people. The finishing touches, such as air conditioners and interior decorations, are now being added to the housing units and will be revealed to the press on Aug. 5. The village will begin welcoming athletes and officials 15 days later.

The organizing committee has gained the full confidence of IAAF officials, who praised its smooth hosting of the 2011 Daegu International Marathon in May. Organizers also trained 138 referees at six special academies and recruited 17,000 volunteers to greet the athletes. Of these, 6,133 have been trained to serve as interpreters, guides and tournament assistants, among other roles.

◆ Record Numbers

Daegu is expecting 200,000 Koreans and 30,000 foreigners to visit the city during the competition, and it intends to ensure they are well taken care of. As such, organizers have selected 410 of the city's top motels and housing facilities to serve as official lodgings for the visitors, and they are considering adding others in areas such as Gyeongju and Gumi.

The World Championships are expected to generate huge economic benefits for the region, according to the Daegu Gyeongbuk Research Institute, a local think tank. This includes a projected W5.6 trillion (US$1=W1,069) boost to production effects from the event, as well as 62,841 new jobs and W2.3 trillion in other value-added income.

At the same time, Daegu's brand image will yield incalculable financial gains in the long term as 6.5 billion viewers around the world tune in to watch the competition.