Seoul City kicked off the 2010 Seoul Lantern Festival near the Cheonggye Stream and will hold it for the next ten days.

The opening ceremony held on Friday at Cheonggye Plaza featured the sequential lighting of an eight-meter-tall lantern structure, named the "Gate of Hope," and about 27-thousand lanterns from four countries.

The city will also display a 15-meter-wide, three-meter-tall lantern to commemorate the G20 summit that opens in Seoul next Thursday. It is decorated with the flags of the nations participating in the summit.

During the G-20 summit, the city plans to run a tour program which includes a tour to the lantern festival for foreign journalists and participants of the summit.