As the main torch of the World Games—lit for the first time in history upon the water—casts its light across mountains and seas, it carries the flame of dreams to the entire world.

Founded in 1981, the World Games has traveled a journey of 44 years and successfully staged eleven editions. But in 2025, in Chengdu, China, things feel a little different.

This is the edition with the largest program in history: 34 sports, 60 disciplines, and 256 events. Alongside traditional sports such as karate and archery, there are emerging events like parkour, drone racing, and flying disc, as well as host-nation specialties rich in cultural heritage such as wushu and dragon boat racing. It has drawn 3,942 athletes from 116 countries and regions, making it the largest World Games ever in both scale and number of participants. The host nation China has sent a record delegation of 321 athletes, aiming for excellence in both sporting performance and sportsmanship.

This is a World Games aligned with “Olympic standards”: the first to hold a torch relay; the first to feature a main cauldron at the opening ceremony; and staged under the principles of green, shared, open, and honest games. Of the 27 venues, 18 are existing facilities upgraded for the event, while 9 are temporary venues built within lake parks—embodying the Olympic vision of sustainable development.

This is a World Games with a one-of-a-kind opening ceremony: for the first time, the stage moved outside the stadium, built beneath the open-air “Roof of Tianfu”—Asia’s largest freestanding wooden structure—integrating the surrounding natural scenery. Through cutting-edge sound, light, fireworks, and visual effects, elements such as the seal-script inscription of “Chengdu,” the representative flowers of the 12 previous host cities, and the “Tree of Friendship” were presented to the world.

Splendid Tianfu welcomes the World Games; sport is boundless, and the landscape is magnificent. Emerging from the depths of history and riding the tide of our times, Chengdu—a city with over 2,000 years of history—embraces the Games. As Gao Zhidan, President of the Chengdu World Games Organizing Committee, Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, and President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, remarked, as the global pinnacle for non-Olympic and emerging sports, the World Games carries humanity’s broadest sporting explorations and most fashionable pursuits.

Here, athletes challenge their limits with fearless courage and surpass themselves with outstanding skill, creating together the infinite possibilities of humankind. Here, sport connects people, friendship crosses mountains and seas, and inclusive cultural exchanges paint a warm picture of unity and peace. Here, Chengdu’s fireworks illuminate the world, and the warm hospitality of Tianfu touches the globe—showcasing to the world the thousand facets of an ancient civilization that stays true to its roots while embracing innovation and diversity.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry and International World Games Association President José Perurena, in a video address and on-site speech respectively, stated that the Chengdu World Games had set a new benchmark for the movement. They noted that bringing together athletes from over 110 countries and regions demonstrated sport’s power to transcend culture and borders, and expressed the hope that Chengdu 2025 would be a memorable and successful celebration.

At the opening ceremony, the athletes took center stage. In addition to the delegations marching in, a line-up of “star athlete flag bearers”—including Pan Xiaoting, Liu Qingyi, Sun Zhian, Han Qiu, Zhang Luo, Zhang Shiyi, Wang Shun, Pan Zhanle, Gao Min, Zou Kai, Zou Jingyuan, He Wenna, Zhang Yufei, Huang Zhangjiayang, He Feng, and Hu Hetao—captured attention. Olympic and non-Olympic sports shone together in that moment, embodying the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger—Together” and serving as a platform for mutual learning among civilizations and connection among peoples.

The flame has been lit, and the curtain has risen. Yet the brilliance of the World Games goes beyond the Games themselves. In the “Land of Abundance,” the flower of mass fitness is in full bloom. Chengdu is seizing the opportunity of hosting the World Games to continually enhance its urban environment, presenting the park-city scenery of “A Garden City, A Vibrant World Games” and the urban image of “Clean, Orderly, Beautiful”. By harnessing the economic momentum of major events, the city is promoting integrated development of culture, sports, tourism, and commerce.

The millennia-old city of Chengdu is painting a healthy and prosperous future with the brush of the times—writing a moving chapter in advancing Chinese modernization, building a strong nation, and achieving national rejuvenation.