More than 8,700 soldiers from 120 countries will take part in the 6th World Military Games to begin a 10-day run Friday in Mungyeong and nearby cities in North Gyeongsang Province.

It is the first time that the quadrennial international military sports event has been held in South Korea. Not surprisingly, North Korea boycotted this year’s event without giving any specific reason.

The event - which claims to be the third-largest global sports competition after the Olympic Games and the Universiade -- is less well known here. But it deserves more public attention and support.

Among those to compete in the 2015 event are hundreds of the world’s top athletes, some of whom hold world records. Some competitions unique to the event, such as parachuting, will be interesting to watch. It will also be a spectacular scene when thousands of soldiers in different military uniforms march during the opening ceremony.

More important, the event serves as a rare and valuable occasion to enable soldiers from around the world to put down their arms and share friendship through sports.

The successful hosting of the World Military Games, which was first held in Rome in 1995, will be yet another example of the growing capacities of the country’s small regional cities.

Mungyeong, a city with a population of 75,000, should be particularly credited for its efforts to prepare for the event in a cost-effective way.

Of the 31 venues in and around the city, 28 have been refurbished from existing facilities. Municipal officials also worked out a creative idea of using caravans as lodging facilities instead of building an apartment complex to accommodate participants. The caravans have already been sold to people wanting to use them after the event ends.

All the previous international military sports events have been financed 100 percent by state coffers. But about 20 percent of the cost of hosting the 2015 event is planned to be covered by revenues from it.

The International Military Sports Council, the governing body of the event, has found no problem with the frugal preparatory work by Mungyeong and nearby cities. Their practicality may fit the spirit of the military sports festival.

The case of Mungyeong should set an example for other municipalities around the country, which annually organize more than 2,400 events combined, most of which draw little attention, piling up deficits. They should learn lessons from efforts to reduce the cost of hosting the military sports event, if they hope to arrange for profitable festivals and other events on their own. Especially, local administration heads should be made to refrain, or prevented, from hosting show-off events during their tenure without making a thorough review and preparation.

The central government is right to move to cut financial support for municipalities that have wasted money on poorly organized events. In addition, specific guidelines need to be worked out to get regional areas to hold proper events based on their own conditions and avoid copying already popular ones.