Kia Motors To Sponsor Asian X Games 2005

Riding the momentum of its rising global brand appeal, Kia Motors has announced that it will be the dynamic new sponsor of the Asian X Games 2005. The world’s signature action sports competition will make its Korean debut, as the City of Seoul will host Asian X Games 2005 from 26-29 May. The event marks the seventh X Games competition to be held in Asia since 1998.

Presenting sponsor Kia and host city Seoul are set to add new chemistry to an already potent mix of energy and action. The competition course will once again feature the perennial favourites of Aggressive In-line Skating, Skateboarding, Bicycle Stunt, Sport Climbing, Wakeboarding and MotoX. The athletes will be competing for over USD110,000 in prize money and bragging rights as top dog in all of Asia.

"We’re honoured that the City of Seoul and Kia Motors have chosen to join with us to bring the X Games to Korea," said Harvey Davis, Director of International X Games. "Their involvement lends prestige to the event and is a testimony to the worldwide popularity of the X Games."

The event is set to ignite the streets of Seoul with talk of world renowned athletes. Action will take place both inside and near the Jamsil Indoor Stadium.

More than 200 hours of TV, across both cable and terrestrial platforms, will be generated from the event with footage reaching over 160 million homes worldwide via ESPN and its affiliates.

According to Kia Motors’ Senior Executive Vice President and COO Yong-Hwan Kim, "On the heels of the announcement of our new global brand slogan - The Power to Surprise - this latest agreement to become the presenting sponsor of the Asian X Games 2005 is a perfect complement to our ‘exciting and enabling’ brand ambitions.

Since our cars are increasingly designed specifically for the young-at-heart, the X Games represent an ideal platform for furthering the recognition level of the Kia nameplate among our core customer base."