The 99th National Sports Festival is set to begin on Friday with an opening ceremony in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
  
The country’s largest annual comprehensive sports competition will be held through next Thursday across the province.
  
Athletes representing 17 provinces and major cities will compete in 46 events in 14 cities and counties of the province, including swimmer Park Tae-hwan, the most valuable player of the previous event, and four-time Olympic shooting gold medalist Jin Jong-oh.
  
The Jeolla Arts Festival and about 300 cultural events will also be held during the sports festival.