Friendship Through Sports: China prepares for 2019 Military World Games

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The 7th Military World Games are set to be held in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019. And as preparations get underway, China's Ministry of Defense held a press conference on Friday, briefing the media on the progress. CGTN's Tang Bo reports.

Military glory and world peace. That's the slogan of the seventh Military World Games announced in Wuhan on Friday by the Chinese military and the International Military Sports Council. They also unveiled the emblem and mascot of the event. The games will be held from October 18th to 27th, 2019.

WU QIAN, SPOKESPERSON MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE "We will work hard to make the games a peaceful gathering in which soldiers of various countries learn from each other, get to know each other, and exchange military concepts and culture so as to make the games memorable for all participants."

The Military World Games are organized by the International Military Sports Council. They've been held every four years since 1995, and they're regarded as a military Olympics. China is now hosting them for the first time. Military forces from more than 100 countries will participate in 27 sports. The president of the council expressed great hopes for the event.

COLONEL ABDULHAKEEM AL SHINO PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL MILITARY SPORTS COUNCIL "We started also a new establishment in the CISM capabilities, with the power of China, we can send very clear message for the entire world. We're going to invite leader of the countries, head of the countries. We're going to invite minister of defense, high authorities, just to show them our desire for the peace."

The municipal government of Wuhan will co-host the games with the military.

LIU YINGZI DEPUTY MAYOR OF WUHAN "All the participating athletes are from around the world with different cultural background. So we will do our best to provide them with customized services, taking food, for example, and religion into account."

Wuhan won the bid for the games in 2015. There will be 31 venues and 11 are now under construction or renovation. Wang Qihua is the general manager of the local company Wuhan Sports Center Development. He's leading the team upgrading the VIP reception area of the event's largest venue.

WANG QIHUA, GENERAL MANAGER WUHAN SPORTS CENTER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD. "This stadium was built for the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2007. It has never held any big international multi-sport event. So to be able to meet the standards for the upcoming military world games, we have to largely upgrade the reception capability of the stadium, giving it a much higher level of quality and safety."

TANG BO WUHAN "The International Military Sports Council aims to promote a friendship between the various forces through sports. Military and Wuhan city authorities say, over the next year or so, they will work on offering decent facilities as a platform to build up friendship, and make the event a great success. Tang Bo, CGTN, Wuhan, Hubei Province."