The upcoming Summer Universiade to open in the South Korean city of Gwangju will be the largest in the event's history, organizers said Tuesday.

The organizing committee for the Universiade said 12,737 athletes and officials from 145 nations had registered as of 3 p.m. Monday, surpassing the 11,759 who participated in the 2013 event in Kazan, Russia.

This year's Universiade, a multisport competition for university athletes, will go on from July 3 to July 14 in Gwangju, a metropolitan city some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, and its satellite cities.

Gwangju had set a June 3 deadline for registration, but an official at the organizing committee said the host city will accept applications until June 30 to cater to countries that have experienced technical difficulties in their registration. The total number of athletes is expected to rise, the official added.

Venezuela will be the first nation to arrive in Gwangju on Thursday, followed by the first batch of the South African delegation later the same day. Teams from Iran, Argentina and Canada, along with the second South African team, will arrive Friday.

The athletes' village will officially open Friday and welcome ceremonies will take place from Friday to July 2, the eve of the opening ceremony.

South Korea will have its largest Universiade delegation ever with 516 athletes and officials in all 21 sports. It has set out to claim at least 25 gold medals to rank in the top three in the medal standings. (Yonhap)