Soon it’s a goodbye to Birmingham 2022 – and a welcome to Chengdu 2025. The host city of the 12th edition of The World Games will be Chengdu, People’s Republic of China. On Saturday at the IWGA press conference, Yang Shen Wei, Head of the Chengdu Delegation at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA, introduced China’s ‘happiest city’ to the guests and media. He concluded his presentation with a clear statement:
“Chengdu will make every effort to make The World Games 2025 an exceptional and unforgettable sporting event. We are ready. Let’s gather in Chengdu and cheer for the world.”
But on Sunday night there will be the cheers of the world for Chengdu. As part of the Closing Ceremony at Protective Stadium, IWGA President José Perurena will hand over The World Games flag to the representatives of Chengdu. From that moment on, the Games will be on the road to Chengdu.
IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow stated that it took no great efforts for the IWGA board to award the capital city of the province of Sichuan, in the south-west of China, the 12th edition of The World Games. “Listening to all the assets the city offers, it was quite easy to take this decision. We experienced especially the enthusiasm of the city, but also the support of the Chinese Olympic Committee for our event and the non-Olympic sports.” And of course, it is a well-known research base for Giant Panda breeding. It’s quite likely that the panda will become the next Mascot. Joachim Gossow dared an educated guess on this. He added: “The flavour of The World Games fits to the city.” He stated that the exact dates will be announced in August 2022.
Having just three years on the road to Chengdu, the IWGA CEO described the challenge:
“We have to catch up a year. Usually we use the year after the Games to evaluate the event, for applications to be on the programme, and for ratifying the schedule. We have to close things up, and we have already discussed with our staff how we can do it in an efficient way.”
Jay Kasten, Chief Operations Officer of the Birmingham Organising Committee, taking part in the press conference, handed over not the flag, but one good piece of advice:
“Good communications between all stakeholders is crucial to run such an event and to achieve a successful Games.”
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.
