SEOUL, Korea – July 9, 2019 – Samsung Electronics, an official sponsor of the 18th FINA World Championships Gwangju 2019, has launched the “Make the Wave” campaign to encourage athletes and also inspire their fans by connecting them through inspiring music, based on its brand philosophy, “Do What You Can’t”.
 
Samsung Electronics appointed Simone Manuel as the ambassador for this year’s campaign, to encourage sports fans from all over the world to share music through social media. Simone Manuel won a gold medal and set an Olympic record in the women’s 100-meter freestyle at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. As Samsung Electronics’ ambassador for the event, she will share a message of encouragement and discuss pushing boundaries without losing hope amid difficult circumstances, as well as talk about the songs and the music that inspire her and help boost her performance.
 
As part of the campaign, special events are planned for aspiring swimmers in Gwangju city. Students will be provided with a chance to be escorts for the water polo finals. They will also meet Kim Se-jin, an accomplished swimmer better known as the "robotic leg swimmer,” who was a member of South Korea’s national disabled swimming team.
 
“This campaign is designed to spread the heat of the competition with a variety of marketing activities, to share the stories of swimmers who are challenging themselves in working toward their dreams, and to cheer on one another through music, powered by our brand philosophy of ‘Do What You Can’t,’” said Younghee Lee, Global CMO at Samsung Electronics. “I hope that everyone will enjoy the events throughout our ‘Make the Wave’ campaign.”
 
“I am glad to be able to share my stories and songs by participating in the ‘Make the Wave’ campaign, which corresponds with my can-do spirit. I hope all swimmers will leave the competition without any regrets and that sports fans will cheer on the athletes loudly,” said Simone Manuel.
 
Samsung Electronics has set up a 255 square meter experience zone in the athlete village, where athletes will be able to interact with other swimmers through uniform exchange, birthday parties and a Korean name calligraphy event. Additionally, there will be opportunities to test out Samsung’s latest products such as the Galaxy S10 series, AKG N700 headphones, ‘The Frame’ 4K TV, and Samsung Notebook 7.
 
Samsung Electronics, which has sponsored FINA since 2015, has been supporting the events with various products. For this year’s events in Gwangju, in addition to the official sponsorship, Samsung is providing and 1,996 refrigerators for the athlete village and the stadiums where the competitions will take place.
 
The 18th FINA World Championships Gwangju 2019, which will kick off on July 12, is one of the world’s top-five mega sports events, with competitions in six events – swimming, diving, high diving, water polo, artistic swimming and open water swimming. About 7,266 aquatic sports athletes, officials, media, and International Swimming Federation officials from 193 countries have registered, an all-time high. More than 12,000 participants are expected to gather in Gwangju for the events, including the World Masters Swimming Competition starting on August 5.
 
Any sports fan can participate in the digital event on the official website of Samsung Electronics to share their songs and cheer for the athletes. Those interested in the event can visit the official page (www.samsung.com/fina2019), select the music they have been inspired by when facing new challenges, and share it on their personal social media with their own album cover. This event will be held from July 9 to August 18 during which 20 AKG N700 headphones and 41 Galaxy Buds will be given away through a lucky draw.