ANSAN, South Korea, May 5 (Yonhap) — More than 50,000 visitors flocked to see the opening of the 2011 G-Global Aviation here on Thursday, the Children’s Day holiday, the event’s organizers said.

Organizers of the country’s largest aviation and aerospace exhibition said that as of 2 p.m. Thursday, 54,000 people had come to see the opening of the six-day event in Ansan, about 42 kilometers south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. That’s up from 45,000 on the opening day a year ago.

Organizers said visitors started piling in from 8 a.m., and by the opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m., hundreds of people had queued up outside interactive and simulation halls.

“We had way more visitors than we’d expected, and we’re actually concerned that we might not be able to offer them our best services,” said Lee Dong-ryeol, an official of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, which is handling publicity for the event. “At this rate, we should surpass our goal of hosting 410,000 visitors.”

Park Ji-young, a 38-year-old mother from Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, said it was difficult to walk around with such big crowds, but added, “My children really enjoyed air shows and aerobatics, so it was worth the trip.”

The Black Eagles, the aerobatics team for the South Korean Air Force, performed formation flying with T-50 supersonic trainer jets, and the opening day show also featured other world-class aerobatic pilots.

Now in its third year, the aviation exhibition will run under the theme “Drawing Dreams and Wishes in the Sky.”

Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/05/05/81/0302000000AEN20110505003700315F.HTML