The 55th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 3 to 13 July 2014. A total of 105 countries have already registered for this prestigious annual competition, breaking the record of 104 competing countries set in Germany in 2009.
The IMO is a problem-solving contest for high school students, held in a different country in July every year. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959, with seven countries taking part. Today, more than 100 countries take part, representing over 90% of the world's population. The IMO is the oldest, biggest and most prestigious of all the international science Olympiads.
The 2014 IMO is presented by the South African Mathematics Foundation and will take place at the University of Cape Town. The event is endorsed by the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Science and Technology of the Republic of South Africa.
Prof John Webb, of the University of Cape Town, who has served on the IMO’s Advisory Board since 2001, has been appointed as the Director of the IMO 2014. He is extremely pleased with the number of countries that have registered to compete this year. “Countries now have until 31 May to register contestants, and with up to six team members per country we expect around 600 of the world’s top young mathematicians to visit the Mother City in July,” he says. “South Africa is expected to announce the names of its team members towards the end of May.”
The IMO 2014’s main sponsors are the Department of Basic Education, Google, the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL), and Sasol.