The stars of the 2012 London Olympics will gather in Daegu for the 93rd National Sports Festival from Thursday until Wednesday next week. The athletes who competed for the country will now compete for their cities or provinces.

A total of 18,252 athletes and 5,907 officials from 17 metropolitan cities and provinces will compete in 42 official disciplines and three exhibition sports  -- sport climbing, dance sports and taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art.

The opening ceremony, which kicks off at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Daegu Stadium, will feature pop star Psy with his signature horse riding dance and rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae.