China raises its game in hosting global sports events

Recently, the 2024 International Cycling Union (UCI) Junior Track World Championships and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships 2024 were held in Luoyang, central China's Henan province, and Shangluo, northwest China's Shaanxi province, respectively.

Both events attracted athletes from dozens of countries and regions. Each day during the competitions, thousands of spectators rushed to the venues to enjoy the thrill of high-level sports up close.

"Chinese spectators are incredibly passionate, and I hope to come back here for more events in the future," said an 18-year-old cyclist from Colombia.

The 2024 Diamond League is hosted at the Xiamen Egret Stadium, southeast China's Fujian province, April 20, 2024. [Photo from the WeChat official account of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Sports]

In recent years, China has successfully hosted a range of international multi-sport and single-sport events, accumulating valuable experience and reaping comprehensive benefits. From event planning and infrastructure to event management, China has left a lasting impression on organizers and athletes from around the world. This success has attracted many officials from international sports organizations to visit China to seek forging stronger partnerships.

Seeing the determined athletes and cheering spectators, Huang Hongzhang, who works for the venue management department of Luoyang's fitness-for-all center, was quite touched, saying the hard work made by him and his team was worth it.

In the past few months, Huang and his team had been dedicated to upgrading the venue's facilities to meet the standards set by the UCI.

Track cycling places extremely high demands on venue facilities. The hosting of the 2024 UCI Junior Track World Championships is a testament to the continuous improvement of China's sports infrastructure and the country's growing capabilities in event organization.

Hélder Ferreira, track coordinator at UCI, said that the 2026 UCI Track World Championships will be held in Shanghai, and the UCI will keep working to place more high-level cycling events in China.

Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, hosted the 2024 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships. Klaus Schormann, president of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, said the events were successful, and watching them in Zhengzhou felt like watching the Olympics.

It took only over 300 days for the event to be hosted from the day when Zhengzhou bid for them. Venue construction was completed in some 20 days, with facilities meeting Olympic standards.

Modern pentathlon includes fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, and a combined laser run (running and shooting). Many athletes were surprised to find an integrated "five-in-one" venue when arriving in Zhengzhou, a standard previously only seen at the Tokyo Olympics and the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Athletes compete during the 2024 International Cycling Union (UCI) Junior Track World Championships held in Luoyang, Central China's Henan province, August 21, 2024. [People's Daily Online/Li Weichao]

"From the competition venues and broadcasting to hotel accommodations and shuttle services, every detail proved that Zhengzhou has outstanding conditions for hosting events," Schormann added.

This year, the first two meetings of the 2024 Diamond League took place in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province and Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. As the highest-level one-day athletics competition, the Diamond League holds 15 meetings throughout the year, with two of them hosted in China. It showcases the World Athletics' strong preference for the country.

Furthermore, the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships and the 2027 World Athletics Championships will be held in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province and Beijing, respectively. China will also host the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province and the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province.

In April this year, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe visited China to attend the 2024 Diamond League Meeting in Xiamen. He said that every event held in China was very well-organized, and expressed his gratitude for China's willingness to play a key role in the reform and development of global athletics, adding that he feels assured to entrust events to China.

Recently, the FIBA 3x3 U21 Nations League 2024 was held in Tianxiancheng scenic area, Xiaogan, central China's Hubei province, attracting a number of spectators. Apart from playing in the games, participating athletes also explored the scenic area, visited local schools to teach students basketball skills, and had close interactions with the local community.

The Chinese sports industry is embracing new areas of growth with upgraded approaches, improved facilities and diversified models in hosting international sports events, which have effectively boosted the country's national fitness program, sports-tourism integration and sports consumption.

Taking the opportunity of hosting the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships 2024, Shangluo has built over 1,000 fitness venues and more than 200 high-standard air volleyball courts. Xiamen, leveraging the Diamond League, has tapped into the potential of sports consumption. It has collaborated with nine other cities in Fujian province to launch a sports consumption festival, which was joined by 2,000 businesses.

Wang Yuxiong, head of the center for sports industry development research at the Beijing-based Central University of Finance and Economics, said that in recent years, China's approach to hosting international sporting events has evolved, with the focus having shifted from emphasizing scale and spectacle to prioritizing quality and attention to detail. This shift has led to a more modern and internationally aligned standard for organizing sports events.