The world's largest scout festival, Jamboree, is currently being held in South Korea, but will end earlier than planned due to a typhoon warning over the country, the world scout movement announced on Monday.
The Belgian delegation of some 1,250 participants will leave the site on Tuesday morning (local time), Baptiste Legast, the Scouts' French-speaking spokesperson at the Jamboree, told the Belga News Agency on Monday.
"The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) received confirmation this morning from the government of the Republic of Korea that, due to the expected impact of typhoon Khanun, an early departure will be scheduled for all participants", WOSM said in a statement on Monday.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, all activities scheduled for Monday afternoon have been cancelled and participants will begin leaving the camp on Tuesday morning.
The Belgian contingent, in contact with the Belgian embassy in South Korea, held a meeting to decide how to proceed with a possible evacuation in the next few hours. The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a statement that participants could be rehoused in Seoul and the surrounding area.
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The 25th edition of the World Jamboree, under the theme 'Draw your dream', was initially scheduled to run until 12 August.
It will bring together some 43,000 young people from 160 countries. Some 1,250 Belgian guides and scouts are taking part. Thousands of participants, including 4,000 Britons and 1,500 Americans, left the gathering early at the end of last week because of the extreme heat and what was seen as poor organisation.
The powerful typhoon Khanun, which killed at least one person as it passed over the Japanese archipelago of Okinawa last week, is expected to reach South Korea on Thursday, according to the weather services.
