There's just one week to go.. until the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships kick off in South Korea's southwestern city of Gwangju.
Tens of thousands of participants and fans from across the globe will converge on the city for the global sporting event.
Our Kan Hyeong-woo gives us a preview of what to expect.
Under the slogan 'Dive into Peace',... the world's biggest biennial swimming competition will kick off on Friday, July 12th in the city of Gwangju,... some 300 kilometers south of Seoul.
The 18th FINA World Championships will see a record-number of participating athletes and countries... with some three-thousand swimmers and divers coming to Gwangju from almost two-hundred countries.
Over the course of seventeen days,... the athletes will compete in swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and water polo at five different venues - four in Gwangju and one in Yeosu.
Concerning North Korea's participation,... there has been no official response from Pyeongyang... despite the organizing committee and Gwangju citizens calling for its participation.
The committee says it's going to wait for North Korean athletes to show up until the very last minute before the opening ceremony next Friday.
According to the committee,... even if North Korea ends up taking part in the eleventh hour,... it shouldn't be disruptive as North Korea usually competes in diving and artistic swimming... both of which aren't schedule-sensitive.
Some 15-thousand participants including swimmers, coaching staff, media personnel, volunteers and organizers... will be able to enjoy various events and cultural performances the city of Gwangju has prepared... on the sidelines of the swimming competition.
According to the organizers,... a 'market street' will be operated at Nambu University - the main venue of the FINA championships - from opening day,... featuring many different performances and also food trucks.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News