SYDNEY, Australia, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- More than 1,000 groups representing more than 65,000 pilgrims have already registered for World Youth Day. The largest number is from the United States.

Registration opened just 50 days ago for the July 15-20, 2008, event, and organizers say they are delighted with the response.

"Eventually, we're expecting around 200,000 people to formally register and up to 500,000 to attend at least one event during the week," said Danny Casey, chief operating officer for the youth day.

After the United States, the largest number of pilgrims is so far coming from Australia, followed by Canada, Germany and the Philippines. All of those nations are previous hosts of World Youth Days.

Code: ZE07050602

Date: 2007-05-06