Christchurch will take centre stage tomorrow when athletes from around the world go for gold on the opening day of the IPC Athletics World Championships.

More than 1,000 athletes from 70 countries have arrived in the Garden City to attend the competition, which is being broadcast to thousands of people around the world from 21-30 January on online TV channel www.paralympicsport.tv.

The event, being held outside of Europe for the first time, takes place at QEII Stadium, and is one of the last major gatherings of international athletes before the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Tourism New Zealand General Manager Brand and International PR Catherine Bates said the sporting spectacle would help raise international awareness of New Zealand as an accessible and memorable location with modern infrastructure.

"These championships will be widely covered by the international media and that will go a long way towards raising awareness of New Zealand as an accessible destination committed to catering for travellers of all ages and physical abilities."

Tourism New Zealand was supporting the event by providing media packs and B-roll footage of the Canterbury region to attending media. Promotional footage of Canterbury and New Zealand would also be provided to SKY TV for inclusion in broadcasts to 13 different countries, including key tourism markets like Australia and UK, she said.

The Ministry of Economic Development has also supported the event, providing $400,000 in support last year through its Major Event's Development Fund.

Competitors at the 2011 championships include big names of the Paralympics world, such as South African "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius, Swiss "silver bullet" Marcel Hug and American Paralympic Games gold medal winners Jessica Galli and April Holmes.

For more information about the IPC Athletics World Championships, visit http://www.ipcathleticsworldchamps.com

(Source NZ Tourism)