An opening ceremony of the 2007 Beijing WTF World Taekwondo Championships was held at the Changping Gymnasium in northern Beijing, China, on May 17, 2007.

Reflecting the importance of the biennial taekwondo event, the two-hour-long ceremony drew over 5,000 people, including over 350 journalists from 46 countries.

Over 1,700 athletes and officials from a record 124 countries are expected to participate in the Beijing World Championships, which will kick off tomorrow for a five-day run. The championship serves as a rehearsal for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony featured taekwondo demonstrations by Chinese, Korean and people with disabilities, as well as Chinese traditional performances, which all involved a mammoth 1,500 people.

The Beijing Championships became the first WTF-promoted taekwondo tournament, in which the WTF’s taekwondo anthem was played. The WTF approved a taekwondo anthem at its General Assembly held at the Loong Palace Hotel just four hours before the opening ceremony.

“With the world and continental qualification tournaments for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games set for this year, the Beijing World Taekwondo Championships will be the perfect stage to gauge the progress of our athletes’ preparations,” said WTF President Chungwon Choue in his speech during the opening ceremony.

A total of 16 gold medals are at stake at the Beijing World Taekwondo Championships, which will be broadcast live for six and a half hours per day during the five competition days by Beijing Television, while Korea’s KBS and Eurosport will broadcast either in a live or delayed format.