[DiaryPoint = Reporter Kim Jeong-hun] Major events for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 will take place on Aug. 3, 5 and 6 at Sangam World Cup Stadium and nearby plazas in Seoul’s Mapo District, followed by events on Aug. 7 and 8 at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. At a Nov. 5 press briefing, the organizing committee announced the schedule and said it expects about 500,000 registrations, including 400,000 young people from overseas and 100,000 participants from South Korea, representing about 190 countries.
The opening Mass is scheduled for Aug. 3 in Sangam, a papal welcome event for Aug. 5 and the Stations of the Cross for Aug. 6. The committee estimates attendance at about 200,000 for the opening Mass, 300,000 for the welcome event and 500,000 for the Stations of the Cross. An overnight vigil will take place at Seoul Airport on Aug. 7, followed by the sending Mass on Aug. 8.
The committee expects about 500,000 people at the overnight vigil and up to 1 million at the sending Mass, including people who have not registered. It also expects about 3,000 members of the international media, 13,000 bishops and clergy, and 20,000 volunteers to take part.
Attendees at Seoul Airport events may walk from public transit hubs
Organizers are considering having attendees walk about 2.8–4 kilometers from nearby public transit hubs, including subway stations, to the Seoul Airport venue. Bishop Lee Kyung-sang, the organizing committee’s general coordinator, said support stations along the routes will provide drinking water and help people cope with the heat.
Three days of major events in Sangam are expected to bring crowds to the plazas around the stadium and put pressure on transport access. The overnight vigil and sending Mass at Seoul Airport could draw hundreds of thousands of people, and as many as 1 million, potentially increasing travel demand across Seongnam as well. Plans for traffic controls and public transit services on event days will be developed later by the relevant agencies.
Bishop Lee said the principle guiding the choice of venues was “minimizing the impact on residents.” Gwanghwamun Square was dropped as a main venue because closing roads for several days was judged likely to cause significant disruption. Seoul Airport was proposed with its capacity for large crowds and its safety and operational conditions in mind.
Before the main World Youth Day events in Seoul, diocesan gatherings will be held from July 29 to Aug. 2 in 15 dioceses across the country, excluding Seoul. The main events will run from Aug. 3 to 8, 2027, and registration is scheduled to remain open through May 31, 2027.