The torch for the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade has been lit in Paris.

A ceremony for the Gwangju Universiade torch lighting was held on May 18 at Sorbonne University, where the World University Games originated. The flame will illuminate the Gwangju Universiade main stadium this coming July.




The torch lighting ceremony was held in an outdoor plaza at the Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV). Women wearing Hanbok, traditional Korean attire, and holding aloft lanterns with a traditional red-and-blue silk shade guided the five students, who were holding lit torches themselves, into the plaza.

Barthélémy Jobert, president of Paris IV, lit the Gwangju Universiade torch using the flames held by the five students. Key officials, including Philippe Boutry, president of Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1), passed the torch among attendees.

The honor of carrying the torch went to a Paris-Sorbonne University student. The torch was then passed to a Panthéon-Sorbonne University student and then to International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Claude-Louis Gallien. On May 18, torch bearers toured major attractions in Paris, including the Louvre Museum, the Arch of Triumph and the Eiffel Tower, further illuminating the City of Lights.


The torch will be transferred to Taipei on May 23, the venue of the next games, the 2017 Summer Universiade, and arrive at Incheon International Airport the next day. The flame will be combined with another flame drawn from Mudeungsan Mountain in Gwangju before touring Korea. The torch will travel 3,700 kilometers and visit 17 cites and provinces in the country, to arrive at the Gwangju Universiade Games and illuminate the stadium on July 3 for the opening ceremony.



By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee
jun2@korea.kr