Flower of Sports Blooms in the City, Guangzhou Embarks on a New Journey of Building a World-Famous Sports City

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Dec 26, 2022, 02:36 ET

World Sports City · Guangzhou Forum Successfully Held

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Building a world's sports city is a strategic choice for a city to rank among the top in the world. The vigorous development of the sports industry will help urban renewal and industrial upgrading, as well as enhance the city's global influence. The World Sports City · Guangzhou Forum, themed as "Guangzhou, an Open & Sporting City", was successfully held online on December 21^st. Guests from all walks of life gathered together to draw a blueprint for the world's sports city and explore a path to become a world's sports city with Guangzhou's characteristics.

CEO of Asia Digital Group Jennifer Xu put it in her speech that the China Sports Culture Expo and the China Sports Tourism Expo (CSCTE for short) have acted as a sound communication platform for the opening and development of Guangzhou's sports industry in an active manner since the CSCTE was launched here five years ago. Guangzhou has provided practical experience for the development of sports in other provinces and cities.

Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Vice President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China Kenneth Fok put forward that sports events play a central role in promoting the coordinated development of healthy society, economy and other fields. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will jointly host the 15^th National Games the People's Republic of China in 2025, which will improve the ability of the three places to host comprehensive sports events, and advance the development and exchanges of sports here.

Sports events are an important opportunity for shaping brands and enhancing influence of cities, and a new driving force for promoting urban economic development. Ingmar De Vos, president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), member of the International Olympic Committee, and president of the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC), delivered a keynote speech with the theme of "How to Create a City Card through Event IP?". He briefly outlined the development and plans of Chinese equestrian sports, and spoke highly of its steady progress. He pointed out that many regional events are in full swing, and more and more young riders are shaping the future pattern of equestrian sports in China.

Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Andreas Zagklis delivered a keynote speech on how to turn the influence of the event into traction for the economic development of the city. He first congratulated the Chinese women's basketball team for winning the silver medal in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held in Australia in 2022, and appreciated that China occupies a pivotal position in basketball. He said that the FIBA will continue to carry out close cooperation with the Chinese basketball, especially Guangdong, to help China develop basketball across the country.

President of the International Hockey Federation Mohammad Tayyab Ikram commended China for its important position in the global sports world in his keynote speech. He said that China has hosted many top sports events and vigorously promoted the Olympic values. The Beijing 2008 and 2022 as well as the previous Asian Games have all placed China in a very important position in the global sports world. He expressed his pleasure for the achievements made by China in hockey.

Secretary General of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Thomas Lund introduced the holding of badminton events in China in the keynote speech. As the launch site of outdoor badminton and the leader of the HSBC BWF World Tour, Guangzhou has made remarkable achievements in the construction and development of badminton courts. It is hoped that the cooperation between the BWF and China will be further strengthened through the CSCTE and more fruitful results will be achieved.

With the rapid development of China's e-sports industry, local governments have introduced relevant policies to support it, creating a favorable environment for the development of e-sports. President of the International E-Sports Federation Vlad Marinescu shared his understanding of the integration of e-sports and traditional sports culture. In his view, sport is defined as an organized system that is understood under certain rules. It involves mental and physical skills for people to compete against each other in order to develop themselves and win. The practice of e-sports and gaming itself develops the mindset and skills needed for work today and in the future, and as such, e-sports can be defined as a sport.

Guangzhou has been steadily cultivating in the horse industry over the years. Li Chungang, deputy director of the Administration of Sport of Guangzhou Municipality, introduced the status quo of the horse industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. According to him, the rapid development of the horse industry has given birth to new related industry chains, such as sports, leisure riding, cultural tourism, and development of professional horse products. Besides, he recognized the practical significance and plans of the development of the horse industry in Guangzhou to foster new drivers for the sustained and rapid economic development of Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Lu Hui, secretary of the Party Leadership Group and director of Nansha District Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports of Guangzhou, delivered a keynote speech on how Nansha can play a leading role in helping Guangzhou build a world's sports city. Great efforts have been made in popularizing water sports and coastal leisure sports. In detail, in addition to the holding of the Guangzhou Nansha International Sailing Regatta for three times and the only stop station in China of the Volvo Ocean Race, one of the world's three major sailing events, Nansha has rolled off five brand events including the Rookie Cup Sailing Regatta, the Guangzhou Nansha China Youth Sailing Regatta, and the Guangzhou Nansha International Sailing Regatta. The national fitness campaign was launched with a fitness system of "events + activities" constructed to form a strong atmosphere of national fitness and engagement.

Prof. Jiang Yiyi, doctoral supervisor and vice dean of the Sports, Leisure and Tourism Faculty of Beijing Sport University, delivered a keynote speech on "Strategies and Paths for Building Guangzhou into a World-Famous Sports City". The development of the Greater Bay Area has channeled an environment with the spirit of reform and opening up, the world's top leisure sports resources, and the most open industrial cooperation policies, all of which are strategic opportunities and strong market foundations for the construction of Guangzhou into a city strong in sports across the globe.

How can science and technology promote the spread of sports events? President and CEO of KLS Liu Jianhong introduced the intelligent live streaming system (CABOT) and intelligent editing system (VOBOT) of KLS in the keynote speech, that is, "Sports Live Streaming Enters the Intelligent Era". Scientific and technological innovation has endowed traditional sports events with a new way, adding fun to the public for watching games and providing a low-cost, easy-to-operate solution for high-quality live streaming.

A keynote speech on "Creating Cultural IP in Sports Cities" was made by Wei Pengju, dean of the Institute of Culture and Economics of Central University of Finance and Economics, and deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Development of Tsinghua University. Sports IP and urban culture have coexisted with deepening interconnectedness and interdependence since the birth of human civilization. Modern sports brand activities can enhance the cultural image of a city and boost economic development. Sports heritage should be combined at this stage to realize the integrated development of culture, sports and tourism. In addition, space operation needs to be taken into account to fully develop the camping and leisure economy. It is necessary to actively plan and promote brand operation, carry out sports cultural activities, and vigorously develop the sports culture industry in combination with capital.

Founder & President of Happy Sports (China) Zhou Li gave a speech on "Community Sports Park and Sports Space Planning, Taking Happy Sports (China) Wepark Life Sports Park as an Example". Community sports parks, in her opinion, are a way ahead, which can solve the "last mile" problem of national fitness in our urban life. Besides, she shared the cases of sports community construction in the Netherlands and Finland, and proposed to spread the culture, charm, colors and personality of sports through children to build sustainable and endless community sports parks.

According to the speech on "Intelligent, Connected, Immersive and Modular Sports Facilities of the Future" by Founding Partner of Australia Smartform Architectural Design Chris Smiles, it is suggested that the virtual model can be combined with the physical world to create a virtual replica of the stadium to benefit stadium operators more and immerse users with a fun, interactive and brand-new experience. A new way to consume sports can be created by bringing together digital technology, physical experiences and a range of exciting ways.

The world champion of speed skating Wang Beixing, currently project assistant of the Major Event Department of the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, reviewed her skating career for more than 20 years. As for her, sports events and sports cultural activities can enhance the physical and mental health of the masses and increase their sense of gain and happiness. Shaping and enhancing brands of cities with sports events can significantly improve life satisfaction and happiness, upgrade the image of the city, and increase the attractiveness and influence of the brands.

Based on the sharing of Sui Jianshuang, an international-level athlete of rhythmic gymnastics, competitions are the core of the entire sports industry. The successful holding of large-scale sports events is a positive recognition of the city's comprehensive strength and the quality of citizens. Guangzhou has entered the fast lane of building a world's sports city and will definitely realize it in the near future with concerted efforts.

Moderated by Executive Vice President of Asia Digital Group Zhang Li, the round table involved Counselor for Health, Welfare & Sport at Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China Nico H. Schiettekatte, Consul of the Consulate General of Nepal in Guangzhou Kunjan Shah, Consul General of the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou Suranga Algewatte, General Manager of Clipper China Hu Yan, Chief Representative of JAPAN NAGANO Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center Shanghai Office Kambayashi Tetsuya, and Country Manager of China, Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi Zhao Yujing. The guests introduced the cases of sports events and the combination of sports and cultural tourism from different countries, and put forward advice on promoting the construction of Guangzhou into a world's sports city.

SOURCE Asia Digital Group