Guangzhou to hold 6 intl sports events

The city of Guangzhou will host six major international sports events in 2018, according to a press conference held by the municipal government on Sept 11.

The events are the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon, the BWF World Tour Finals 2018, the International Federation of Sport Climbing China Open (2018 IFSC China Open), the Guangzhou Nansha International Sailing Festival, the Evergrande World Snooker China Championship, and the one year count-down ceremony of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The 2018 Guangzhou Marathon will kick off on Dec 9. This year's marathon will feature two events – the full marathon (42.2 kilometers) and the half marathon, with the number of participants expected to reach 30,000; two thirds in the full-length race. Since it opened for public registration on June 30, nearly 100,000 runners have signed up for the event, a whopping 50,000 of them on the first day. 

The Guangzhou Marathon is awarded gold label status by the International Association of Athletics Federations. [Photo/guangzhou-marathon.com]

In January this year, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) revealed that Guangzhou will be home to the BWF World Tour Finals for the 2018-2021 tournament circle. This year's competition is the first for this top event in the city and will be held from Dec 12 to 16 at the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center.

The Evergrande World Snooker China Championship, with total prize money of £700,000 ($910,000), will be held at the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center from Sept 24 to 30. The world's 72 best snooker players, including the world's number one Mark Selby and famous Chinese famous player Ding Junhui, will take part.

The Badminton World Federation announces that Guangzhou will be home to the BWF World Tour Finals for the 2018-2021 tournament circle. [Photo/Xinhua] 

The 2018 IFSC China Open will be held at the Guangzhou University Town Sports Center from Nov 16 to 18 and the 2018 Guangzhou Nansha International Sailing Festival is scheduled to be held at the Nansha Marina from Dec 6 to 9.

The one year count-down ceremony for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, to be hosted in nine cities including Beijing and Guangzhou next year, will be held at the south square of the Tianhe Sports Center on Sept 12.