2025 World Games

The 2025 World Games (2025年世界运动会), commonly known as Chengdu 2025, are an international multi-sport event being held from 7–17 August in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, with preliminary competition in some events beginning on 6 August. They are the 12th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions that are not currently contested at the Olympic Games.

The World Games 2025

Host city	Chengdu, China
Motto	运动无限，气象万千 (Boundless Sports, Countless Wonders)[1]
Nations	118
Athletes	4,000 (expected)
Events	256 in 34 sports
Opening	7 August 2025
Closing	17 August 2025
Opened by	Shen Yiqin State Councillor of China
Torch lighter	Xu Lu and Alu Xiaobo
Ceremony venue	Tianfu International Convention Centre (opening ceremony)[2][3] World Horticultural Expo Park (closing ceremony)[2]
Website	theworldgames2025.com
← Birmingham 2022 Karlsruhe 2029 →

Chengdu

Location of Chengdu, China

It marks the first time that the Games are being hosted by China, and marks the return to a four-year cycle after the 2021 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama were delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bidding process

Luo Qiang, Mayor of Chengdu, signed the Organiser Agreement for TWG 2025, with the Vice President of IOC and the Chinese Olympic Committee as witness. President José Perurena signed on behalf of the International World Games Association (IWGA).^[4]

Development and preparations

Dong'an Lake Sports Park will host four sports.

Venues

On 21 May 2024, the International World Games Association announced venues for the 2025 World Games.^[5] Some of the venues selected were also used during the 2021 Summer World University Games, also held in Chengdu.

Longquanyi District

Venue		Events	Capacity	Status
Dong'an Lake Sports Park	Athletics Field	Air sports	1,000	Existing
	Central Square	Tug of war	TBA	Temporary
	Gymnasium	Cheerleading	18,000	Existing
		Gymnastics (Acrobatic, Aerobic, Trampolining)
Qinglong Lake		Archery	619	Temporary
Longquan High School Gymnasium		Korfball (indoor)	TBA	Existing
Chengdu Sport University Sancha Lake Campus	Athletics Field	Flying disc (Ultimate)	9,800
	Outdoor Courts	Boules sports	480
	Natatorium	Lifesaving	1,398
		Underwater sports (Finswimming, Freediving)

Eastern New Area

Venue	Events	Capacity	Status
Chengdu World Horticultural Expo Park Chengdu International Friendship Pavilion[2]	Closing ceremony	TBA	Existing
Chengdu No. 7 High School Eastern Campus Athletics Field	Flag football	1,441
	Lacrosse
Eastern New Area Orienteering Venue	Orienteering	TBA	Temporary

Tianfu New Area

Venue		Events	Capacity	Status
Tianfu International Convention Centre Tianfu Eaves[2][3]		Opening ceremony	9,000	Temporary
Tianfu Park		Fistball	TBA
		Sport climbing	TBA
Xinglong Lake	Beach Arena	Beach handball	TBA
		Korfball (Beach)	TBA
	Hubin	Canoe sports (Canoe marathon, Dragon boat)	288
		Duathlon	775
		Gymnastics (Parkour)	757
Civil Aviation Flight University of China Tianfu Campus Gymnasium		Billiard sports (Carrom, Pool, Snooker)	4,418	Existing
Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre	Gymnasium	Powerlifting	12,133
		Wushu
	Public Fitness Gymnasium	Racquetball	TBA
		Squash
Guixi Park		Flying disc (Disc Golf)	TBA	Temporary

Wuhou District

Venue	Events	Capacity	Status
Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium	Kickboxing	7,000	Existing
	Muaythai

Xindu District

Venue		Events	Capacity	Status
Chengdu Roller Sports Centre		Roller sports	681	New
Liaojiawan Shuyue Park			497	Temporary
Xindu Xiangcheng Sports Centre	Gymnasium	Floorball	3,164	Existing
	Better City Softball Arena	Softball	940

Jianyang

Venue		Events	Capacity	Status
Sancha Lake	Ma'anshan Arena	Powerboating	329	Temporary
		Wakeboarding (Wake Surf Skim, Wakeboard Freestyle)
	Taohuadao Arena	Wakeboarding (Cable Wakeboard)	39
Jianyang Cultural and Sports Centre	Gymnasium	Ju-jitsu	4,500	Existing
		Karate
		Sambo
	Natatorium	Canoe sports (Canoe polo)	3,000

Jinniu District

Venue	Events	Capacity	Status
Chengbei Gymnasium	Dancesport	2,500	Existing

Torch relay

For the first time in World Games history, a torch relay was held. The torch was revealed on 27 February 2025. Named Zhumeng, and designed by Feng Benyuan (who was one of the designers for the mascot of the 2022 Winter Paralympics) and Wang Anxu of the Jilin University of Arts, its design blends artistic forms, symbolic colors and cultural motifs in a style that reflects the spirit of the World Games and the heritage of the host nation.^[6]

On 21 July 2025, the organising committee announced that the torch relay would start on 26 July at the Sanxingdui Museum, and would travel through Chengdu, and neighboring cities Deyang and Meishan, and would visit several landmarks in the area; the Jinsha site, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Wuhou Shrine, San Su Shrine and Xinglong Lake Wetland Park. Around 120 torchbearers participated.^[7]

The Games

Qualification

Main article: Qualification for the 2025 World Games

Sports

34 sports, comprising 60 disciplines and 253 medal events, have been chosen for the 2025 World Games.^[8] For the first time, powerboating and cheerleading will be represented at The World Games. In the sector of para sports, para freediving and para ju-jitsu will make their debut.^[9] Three sports which have been in all previous editions of The World Games are dropped from the 2025 program: bowling, water-skiing, and artistic roller skating. Esports will also be showcased as part of a partnership between the IWGA and the Global Esports Federation.^[10] Sumo, which originally debuted in 2001, was dropped due to issues during competition at the 2022 World Games.^{[11][12][13][14]}

•  Air sports (1) ^T
•  Archery (7) ^P
•  Beach handball (2) ^B
• Billiard sports
  • Carom (2) ^P
  • Pool (3) ^P
  •  Snooker (2) ^P
•  Boules sports (6) ^P
• Canoe sports
  • Canoe marathon (4) ^T
  •  Canoe polo (2) ^B
  •  Dragon boat (6) ^T
•  Cheerleading (1) ^AD
•  Dancesport (4) ^AD
•  Duathlon (3) ^T
•  Fistball (2) ^B
•  Flag football (1) ^B
•  Floorball (2) ^B
•  Flying disc (2) ^T
• Gymnastics
  •  Acrobatic gymnastics (5) ^AD
  •  Aerobic gymnastics (4) ^AD
  •  Parkour (4) ^AD
  •  Trampoline gymnastics (6) ^AD
•  Ju-jitsu (19) ^M
•  Karate (12) ^M
•  Kickboxing (12) ^M
•  Korfball (2) ^B
•  Lacrosse (1) ^B
•  Lifesaving (16) ^T
•  Muaythai (6) ^M
•  Orienteering (5) ^T
• Powerboating (3) ^T
• Powerlifting (16) ^S
•  Racquetball (3) ^B
• Roller sports
  • Freestyle inline skating (4) ^T
  •  Inline hockey (1) ^B
  •  Road speed skating (8) ^T
  •  Track speed skating (10) ^T
•  Sambo (11) ^M
•  Softball (2) ^B
•  Sport climbing (6) ^T
•  Squash (2) ^B
•  Tug of war (3) ^S
• Underwater sports
  •  Finswimming (16) ^T
  • Freediving (9) ^T
•  Wakeboarding (6) ^T
•  Wushu (12) ^M

Notes^{[a 1]}

AD: Artistic and Dance sports (8)

B: Ball sports (11)

M: Martial arts (6)

P: Precision sports (3)

S: Strength sports (2)

T: Trend sports (16)

1. José Perurena, IWGA President, stated, "In Birmingham, for the first time, invitational sports were no longer presented separately but were also part of the official programme."^[15] This is now TWG policy.

Participants

As part of the IWGA's new "Growth Beyond Excellence" strategies, the athlete quota (including athletes and technical officials) for the sports program of the 2025 World Games and onwards was increased from 4,200 to 5,000. 4,000 participants are proposed by the IWGA Member Federations; while the remaining 1,000 participants consists of disciplines in consultation with the organizing committee, disciplines in determination with the International Olympic Committee's consultation and para disciplines which will be determined through consultation with the International Paralympic Committee.^[4]

Russia and Belarus are barred from taking part in the World Games due to their role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Instead athletes from the two countries will compete as independents, provided that the individual international sports federations allow their participation.^[16]

Participating Nations

Afghanistan (1)  Algeria (2)  Argentina (65)  Armenia (6)  Aruba (1)  Australia (121)  Austria (55)  Azerbaijan (14)  Bahrain (1)  Belgium (74)  Benin (2)  Bermuda (1)  Bolivia (2)  Brazil (53)  Brunei (4)  Bulgaria (15)  Cambodia (15)  Cameroon (3)  Canada (130)  Chile (28)  China (326) (host)  Colombia (50)  Costa Rica (6)  Ivory Coast (2)  Croatia (39)  Cuba (1)  Cyprus (2)  Czech Republic (125)  Denmark (51)  Dominican Republic (3)  Ecuador (13)  Egypt (24)  El Salvador (1)  Estonia (12)  Finland (38)  France (132)  Georgia (1)  Germany (212)  Great Britain (94)  Greece (19)  Guatemala (9)  Guinea (1)  Hong Kong (24)  Hungary (73)  India (17)  Individual Neutral Athletes (33)  Indonesia (28)  Iraq (2)  Ireland (16)  Iran (30)  Israel (32)  Italy (191)  Jamaica (1)  Japan (152)  Jordan (2)  Kazakhstan (31)  Kosovo (1)  Kenya (0)  Kuwait (3)  Kyrgyzstan (6)  Latvia (29)  Lebanon (3)  Libya (1)  Liechtenstein (1)  Lithuania (5)  Luxembourg (2)  Madagascar (3)  Malaysia (5)  Mauritius (1)  Mexico (40)  Moldova (4)  Mongolia (9)  Montenegro (3)  Morocco (10)  Myanmar (12)  Namibia (15)  Nauru (1)  Netherlands (88)  New Zealand (55)  Nigeria (1)  Norway (13)  Pakistan (3)  Panama (2)  Paraguay (1)  Peru (2)  Philippines (48)  Poland (61)  Portugal (56)  Puerto Rico (17)  Qatar (1)  South Korea (64)  Romania (30)  San Marino (1)  Saudi Arabia (3)  Serbia (4)  Singapore (44)  Slovakia (34)  Slovenia (7)  South Africa (22)  Spain (104)  Suriname (14)  Sweden (66)  Switzerland (92)  Chinese Taipei (120)  Thailand (53)  Tunisia (14)  Turkmenistan (1)  Turkey (22)  Ukraine (84)  United Arab Emirates (8)  United States (180)  Uruguay (1)  Uzbekistan (19)  Venezuela (24)  Vietnam (25)  Virgin Islands (1)

^[17][18]

Calendar

On 21 May 2024, the International World Games Association announced dates for the 2025 World Games.^[5][18]

All times and dates use China Standard Time (UTC+8)

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Event finals

CC

Closing ceremony

Event/Date		August 2025												Events
		6 Wed	7 Thu	8 Fri	9 Sat	10 Sun	11 Mon	12 Tue	13 Wed	14 Thu	15 Fri	16 Sat	17 Sun
Ceremonies			OC										CC
Air sports	Drone racing									●	●	1		1
American football	Flag football									●	●	●	1	1
Archery			●	1	2		●	●	2	●	●	2		7
Softball		●	●	●	●	1			●	●	●	●	1	2
Billiard sports
	Carom					●	●	●	1	1				2
	Pool					●	●	●	1	2				3
	Snooker					●	●	●	1	1				2
Boules sports										●	2	2	2	6
Canoe sports
	Canoe marathon				2	2								4
	Canoe polo								●	●	●	2		2
	Dragon boat				1	5								6
Cheerleading	Pom										●	1		1
Dancesport				1	1							●	2	4
Duathlon										1	1		1	3
Fistball					●		●	●	2					2
Floorball		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2					2
Flying disc
	Disc golf			●	●	1								1
	Ultimate							●	●	●	●	1		1
Gymnastics
	Acrobatic gymnastics			2	2	1								5
	Aerobic gymnastics										2	2		4
	Parkour							2	2					4
	Trampoline gymnastics			1	2	3								6
Beach handball			●	●	●	●	●	2						2
Ju-jitsu						7	7	5						19
Karate				6	6									12
Kickboxing								●	●	12				12
Korfball				●	●	●	●	1			●	●	1	2
Lacrosse	Lacrosse Sixes		●	●	●	●	1							1
Lifesaving				8	8									16
Muaythai				●	●	6								6
Orienteering				2		2	1							5
Powerboating											●	●	3	3
Powerlifting										4	4	4	4	16
Racquetball									●	●	●	●	3	3
Roller sports
	Freestyle inline skating											2	2	4
	Inline hockey		●	●	●	●	1							1
	Road speed skating							4	4					8
	Track speed skating									6	4			10
Sambo									6	6				12
Sport climbing										2	2	2		6
Squash				●	●	●	●	2						2
Tug of war					1	1	1							3
Underwater sports
	Finswimming					8	8							16
	Freediving					5	5							10
Wakeboarding				●	●	6								6
Wushu				2	4	●	●	6						12
Daily medal events		0	0	23	29	48	24	22	21	35	15	19	20	256
Cumulative total		0	0	23	52	100	124	146	167	202	217	236	256	256
Event/Date		August 2025												Events
		6 Wed	7 Thu	8 Fri	9 Sat	10 Sun	11 Mon	12 Tue	13 Wed	14 Thu	15 Fri	16 Sat	17 Sun

Medal table

  *   Host nation (China)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China*	19	6	3	28
2	Germany	15	12	9	36
3	Italy	9	15	14	38
4	Ukraine	8	9	6	23
5	France	7	10	9	26
6	Hungary	7	7	5	19
7	United States	6	5	2	13
8	Switzerland	6	3	0	9
9	Poland	5	5	2	12
10	Japan	4	8	3	15
11	Thailand	4	3	5	12
12	Belgium	4	3	0	7
13	Denmark	4	2	2	8
14	Spain	4	1	10	15
15	South Korea	4	1	5	10
16	Sweden	4	1	2	7
17	Colombia	3	5	5	13
18	Israel	3	3	3	9
19	Indonesia	3	3	0	6
–	Individual Neutral Athletes	3	2	4	9
20	Iran	3	1	2	6
21	Hong Kong	3	1	1	5
22	Portugal	2	3	4	9
23	Netherlands	2	3	3	8
24	Great Britain	2	1	2	5
	Mexico	2	1	2	5
26	New Zealand	2	0	2	4
27	Moldova	2	0	0	2
28	Canada	1	3	4	8
29	Kazakhstan	1	2	2	5
30	United Arab Emirates	1	2	1	4
31	Chinese Taipei	1	1	3	5
32	Malaysia	1	1	1	3
33	Turkey	1	1	0	2
34	Egypt	1	0	4	5
35	Australia	1	0	3	4
36	Argentina	1	0	2	3
37	Jordan	1	0	1	2
	Morocco	1	0	1	2
39	El Salvador	1	0	0	1
40	Azerbaijan	0	3	0	3
41	Croatia	0	2	3	5
42	Czech Republic	0	2	2	4
43	Vietnam	0	2	1	3
44	Austria	0	2	0	2
	South Africa	0	2	0	2
46	Singapore	0	1	3	4
47	Ecuador	0	1	1	2
	Estonia	0	1	1	2
	India	0	1	1	2
	Philippines	0	1	1	2
	Slovakia	0	1	1	2
52	Brunei	0	1	0	1
	Cuba	0	1	0	1
	Finland	0	1	0	1
	Mongolia	0	1	0	1
	Paraguay	0	1	0	1
	Romania	0	1	0	1
	Uzbekistan	0	1	0	1
59	Brazil	0	0	2	2
	Greece	0	0	2	2
61	Chile	0	0	1	1
	Guatemala	0	0	1	1
	Latvia	0	0	1	1
	Montenegro	0	0	1	1
	Namibia	0	0	1	1
	Peru	0	0	1	1
	Saudi Arabia	0	0	1	1
	Venezuela	0	0	1	1
Totals (68 entries)		152	150	153	455

Source

Marketing

The emblem for the games was revealed on 17 May 2024, designed by British designer, John Fairley. The design was inspired by the giant panda, hibiscus flower and Chinese knot.^[19]

The mascots for the games were revealed on 6 August 2024. Shubao, a giant panda and Jinzai, a golden snub-nosed monkey, were created to raise awareness about rare animals and biodiversity protection.^[20]

Broadcasting

The games are broadcast freely on IWGA platform.^[21]