Sports activities in Da Nang promise to be more exciting and attractive in 2024. The city strives to host and organise many large-scale international sporting events, aiming to turn itself into a sports centre of the country.

The Da Nang International Marathon is one of the large-scale sporting events that will take place in 2024. Photo: P.

International Marathon is Da Nang's own branded competition. After previous successful seasons, the event is increasingly becoming popular. The increasing number of registered runners every year is the clearest evidence.

The 11^th edition of the Da Nang International Marathon in 2024 is slated to take place on March 24 instead of August as usual. The change in tournament time is to ensure favourable weather conditions and facilitate participating runners to experience stunning beaches in Da Nang.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports Nguyen Trong Thao, the Da Nang International Marathon is one of the most anticipated events in Southeast Asia, ranked third among 6 marathons in Asia. The number of runners climbed from 1,000 in 2013 to nearly 10,000 in 2019, and this event has till date attracted a total of more than 9,000 international athletes from more than 65 countries and territories worldwide. This is a marathon with the number of international athletes accounting for up to 30% each season.

The Da Nang International Marathon 2024 promises to be an unforgettable experience for runners and spectators as participating runners will have the opportunity to run across the city's iconic bridges; enjoy peaceful sunrises and stunning landscapes; and experience the local culture and cuisine and the friendliness of local people.

This year's event is expected to witness a surge in the number of runners. Anyone who is interested in the race can register at the website www.rundanang.com.

In addition, from June 1 - 9, Da Nang will host the 13^th Southeast Asian Student Sports Games. This is the second time the sporting event has taken place in Viet Nam but this is the first time Da Nang has been a host. The sporting event is expected to see athletes from 11 countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Viet Nam and East Timor, and they will compete in swimming, basketball, badminton, athletics, pencak - silat, and vovinam.

The city has prepared for the event since it was chosen as the host locality in 2023, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thao informed.

He added the municipal Department of Culture and Sports coordinated with relevant units and localities to advise the People's Committee on plans to organise opening and closing ceremonies, facilities, locations, training and competition equipment. Locations selected for competitions include the Tien Son Sports Arena, the Son Tra District Cultural and Sports Centre, the Military Region 5 Gymnasium, the Hoa Xuan Athletics Stadium, the Taekwondo Gymnasium, and the city's Swimming and Diving Pool.

Mr. Thao highlighted the significance of the successful organisation of the 13^th Southeast Asian Student Sports Games in promoting the image of landscape, people, historical traditions, cultural identity and achievements in all aspects of Da Nang and Viet Nam as a whole to international athletes.

He emphasised that the event will contribute to introducing Southeast Asian students to Vietnamese education, and physical education and school sports movements, as well as creating conditions for Vietnamese students to integrate into regional student sports levels.

In the development plan, the city strives to become the sports centre of the country, so  more international sporting events will take place in Da Nang in the near future, he added.

Aside from the two abovementioned sporting events, in 2024, the city will also host major tournaments such as the Asian Taekwondo Championship, and the Southeast Asian and Asian Open Ice Skating Championships. Asian Open.

The aforementioned tournaments will contribute to promoting the development of the physical training and sports movements, and service and tourism activities, in the city in the time to come.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG