The 101st National Sports Festival that was set to kick off in October in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province is unlikely to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Appearing on a KBS TV show on Sunday, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Yang-woo said the festival is likely to be postponed, adding that it will be difficult to hold it this year. 

His comments came after the sports ministry, the Korea Sport and Olympic Committee and officials of seven local governments held discussions last Friday on whether to delay the country’s largest annual comprehensive sports competition. 

Earlier, North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo had requested quarantine authorities and the sports ministry to discuss delaying the event to next year. Lee had stressed that keeping athletes safe is the top priority of the games.