Incheon Fair Incheon to Host Bicycle Expo
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Visitors to the upcoming 2009 Incheon Global Fair & Festival will have an additional opportunity to see a bicycle expo which coincides with the world's largest showcase of urban development models.
Incheon will host the 2009 Incheon Bicycle Expo from Aug. 7 through Oct. 25 in the city's international district of Songdo, also the venue of the fair, under the theme ``Bicycle Rides to the Future of Incheon.''
The program will include various exhibitions featuring the industrial, commercial and practical aspects of the bicycle, which has been gaining popularity in Korea as an alternative means of transportation and physical workout.
Organizers are also planning a parade, fashion shows, performances and a mini-Olympics for cyclists.
Korea has recently introduced a series of policies at the central and local level to make the whole country more bicycle-friendly. Some parts of Seoul, such as Mapo, Songpa and Gangbuk, provide a public bicycle-rental system.
Many other cities around the country, including Changwon and Daejeon, run similar projects.
Incheon will additionally host a nationwide bicycle tour starting mid-July to publicize the fair ahead of its opening on Aug. 8 and to attract more tourists to the coastal city.
Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, who has been promoting the `Visit Incheon 2009' campaign at home and abroad, hopes to attract half a million foreign tourists to the Incheon fair, particularly from neighboring countries such as China and Japan.
Incheon has invited representatives of businesses and governments, as well as urban planners, to explore futuristic urban development models and lifestyles utilizing up-to-date digital technologies. More than 100 cities around the world are expected to participate.
The event will feature exhibitions, conferences and festivals organized around five main subjects ― development of new city, environment and energy, advanced technology, tourism and leisure, and culture and arts.
Organizers said that the event is expected to generate 530 billion won in added value and contribute to attracting more foreign investment for the Incheon Free Economic Zone to be completed by 2020.
``We see the exhibition as an opportunity to emerge as one of the world's 10 must-visit cities,'' Mayor Ahn said in an interview with The Korea Times last month.