Esteemed leaders of every sphere of society from 120 nations, youth leaders of all faiths from the Interreligious Peace Sports Festival, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Welcome to the 2005 World Culture and Sports Festival, a festival of peace for heaven, the spirit world and humankind.

Humankind has endeavored throughout the ages to create a lasting world of peace, yet peace has eluded us so far.

In over 400 volumes of sermons and speeches, and in the Divine Principle, Cheon Seong Gyeong and other selections of his speeches, Rev. Sun Myung Moon has revealed the source of humankind's misfortune and conflict and has elucidated the fundamental principles that shed light on the path towards peace through true love. To this, he has dedicated his entire life and has overcome the ignorance and persecution of those surrounding him. Now his endeavors to lay a foundation for building a world of peace have taken visible form. An ideal world of peace is a global culture of true love and heart.

During the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Rev. Sun Myung Moon proposed the holding of a World Culture and Sports Festival. The Olympics, World Cup Tournament and various other exhibitions being held in the world today have become too commercialized. Unable to overcome barriers between political factions, denominations, ethnic groups, races and nations, they are inept at fulfilling their original role of becoming festivals for world peace. For this reason, the World Culture and Sports Festival is being held as a venue for fostering harmony among the peoples of the world and thereby engendering the creation of a culture of true love. Beginning with the first festival in 1992, the World Culture and Sports Festival is now being held for the eleventh time.

Distinguished world leaders and young people who will bear the responsibility of ensuring the future world is one of peace:

The World Culture and Sports Festival has focused on important agendas, centering on practices expressive of international, interracial and interreligious true love under themes such as The Realization of One Global Family, One Brotherhood in the Global Village, and Good Governance for a New World Order of Lasting Peace.

The World Culture and Sports Festival, with its component events: the Interreligious Peace Sports Festival, the International Marriage Blessing Ceremony, the World CARP Convention, the Youth Peace Camp, Service for Peace and its service activities, and the IIFWP Assembly is not a simple, isolated occasion. It is a sacred festival by which we are striving, together with God and True Parents, toward the substantial realization of a world of peace as originally conceived by God that is, a world of true love and a culture of heart that has been the hope of humankind throughout the ages.

This festival from this point on will be held every two years. In particular, from 2007, the Peace Cup Tournament, a soccer festival for peace, will also be held as a part of the World Culture and Sports Festival.

Your passion and purity of heart will transcend the walls that divide religions, races, ethnic groups and nations to guide this world toward God's ideal of peace. I am convinced that the character, spontaneous efforts and spiritual wisdom of the participants here can drive away the conflict, struggle and strife that marked the era before the coming of heaven to create a culture and world of true love in the era after the coming of heaven, where harmony and unity among God, humankind and the natural world is achieved.

May God's blessing be on all of you during the events of this festival.

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