Plans afoot to brand Khelo India University Games at a large scale
Lucknow: To make the Khelo India University Games being held for the first time in Uttar Pradesh a success, the government will do branding at multiple levels. Cooperation is being taken from all the departments of the government in the preparations, so an action plan has been prepared from the social media to the grassroots level for its publicity in the entire state.
CM Yogi Adityanath, who is promoting sports at every level in the state, is eyeing to successfully organize these games and get the hosting of the National Games. It is noteworthy that Khelo India University Games (KIUG) is a part of Khelo India initiative of the Government of India to promote grassroots sports and identify young talent from across the country. The event is an inter-university meet where athletes representing various universities across the country compete for medals in various sporting events.
According to the information received from the department, branded vehicles will be used for the promotion of Khelo India University Games, in which the anthem of KIUG 2022 will be played from loudspeakers at all intersections. Branding of these games will also be done through hoardings, placards, loudspeakers making people aware about KIUG 2022. Big screens will be installed at all major intersections in Lucknow and other districts.
Additional Chief Secretary Sports Dr. Navneet Sehgal has instructed to make two separate counters during the event, one for coffee-table book and the other for ODOP Expo. Through this, marketing of famous products of other districts including sports products of the state will be done. Navneet Sehgal said that efforts will be made to attract audience through various activities on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) and digital media (print, electronic, radio). In this, efforts will be made to engage the public through quizzes and contests.
KIUG Doordarshan will be the official television partner for the Khelo India University Games 2022, while it will also be telecast on OTT platforms to be selected soon. The media team of Sports Authority of India will also collaborate with the local media to promote the sporting event across India. The organization of games is being given priority in coordination between various departments of the state government. Everyone has been given responsibility based on their expertise. The responsibility of security and traffic will be the responsibility of the UP Police, while the power corporation has been given the responsibility for proper arrangement of electricity.
The Municipal Corporation has got the responsibility of beautifying the venue and its surroundings, while the Tourism Department has to do the work of branding the major sites of the state. It may be known that UP has hosted national and international competitions of many sports in the past as well. But this is the first time that Uttar Pradesh has got the hosting of the multi-sports national competition.
The event was to be held in 2022, but was postponed to 2023 due to the Corona pandemic. The last two editions were hosted by Odisha and Bengaluru respectively. This year, the maximum number of 4705 athletes from 200 universities are participating in this competition, while an additional sport (rowing) has been included for this edition.
