Shandong Province is vigorously promoting the development of its sports event economy and outdoor sports industry, with plans to host 200 national-level or higher events this year.

According to reports, the Information Office of the Shandong Provincial People’s Government held a themed press conference titled “Promoting Reform and Innovation to Drive High-Quality Development”, during which it introduced initiatives to integrate sports, business, culture, and tourism to boost consumer vitality.

Luan Fengyan, Deputy Director of the Shandong Provincial Sports Bureau, stated that Shandong is making great efforts to develop the sports event economy and outdoor sports, and plans to host 200 national-level or above events in 2025.

In 2025, the Shandong Sports Bureau will leverage the province’s rich natural resources for outdoor activities across mountains, water, land, and air, and promote an integrated plan for the sports event economy and the outdoor sports industry. Key areas of focus include:

1. Actively Attracting High-End Sporting Events

Shandong will enhance research on bidding for and introducing major international and domestic sporting events, conduct comprehensive evaluations of their influence and market potential, and explore the establishment of a working mechanism for high-end event introduction.

With Jinan and Qingdao as leading hubs, the province will strategically plan the development of event-branded cities. A complete mechanism will be established for applying, certifying, evaluating, and providing incentives for high-end sporting events. Cities across the province will be supported in bringing in premium events.

In 2025, the plan is to host 200 national-level or higher events. So far, major international competitions already held include the World Sailing Championships, International Teqball Series, World Taekwondo President’s Cup, and the International Padel Open.

2. Cultivating and Developing Independent Sports Brands

Cities will be encouraged to fully leverage their historical and cultural heritage as well as natural ecological resources to grow and strengthen traditional brand events. The aim is to build a pattern of “every city with a brand, every county with a unique feature.”

Efforts will be made to further enhance the reputation and influence of long-standing signature events such as the Taishan International Mountaineering Festival, the Yellow River Estuary (Dongying) Marathon, the Weihai Triathlon, and the Qingdao International Sailing Week.

Provincial-level mass sports event brands will also be further developed, including the “100-1000-10,000” Competitions (a tiered competition framework in the province), the Shandong Mass Fitness Games, and the Winter Mass Fitness Games.

In addition, Shandong will support the development of grassroots-level events such as the “Village Super League” (Village Football League), “Village BA” (Village Basketball League), “Village Ping Pong”, as well as community and city leagues.

Major events planned include:

50 marathon races with more than 5,000 participants each,

500 large-scale events with over 1,000 participants,

22 stops for the Shandong Marathon City League,

5 stations for the Ice and Snow Sports Series, and

25 featured events along the “Four Belts”, referring to:

the Yellow River Cultural Tourism Belt,

the Grand Canal Cultural Belt,

the Coastal Economic Belt, and

the Revolutionary Culture Belt in old revolutionary base areas.