The 2025 FISU Summer World University Games, officially known as the XXXII Summer World University Games and also known as Rhine-Ruhr 2025, is a multi-sport event scheduled to be held from 16 to 27 July 2025, in five cities in Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Berlin as an outlying venue in Germany. The region previously hosted the 1989 Summer Universiade in Duisburg, who also host sports during these games.
Host selection
The German University Sports Federation (ADH) announced in August 2018 that it intended to submit a bid to FISU for a future edition of the Summer Universiade.[1][2] However, the choice of which edition and which city/region was interested was delayed until August of that same year because of school holidays. However, the choice of which edition and which city/region was interested was delayed until August of that same year because of school holidays and also for bureaucratic reasons and as the venues for the 2021 and 2023 editions had already been chosen, it would be up to the entity to choose the next host city process opened which was 2025.[3] Also noteworthy is the ADH proposal, which received approval from the German parliament in record time, being made in December of same year.[4]
Thus, the first form of contact was made soon afterwards. In mid-April 2019, an ADH delegation visited FISU headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, which was pleased with the German intention to host the Summer Universiade, and it was agreed to immediately maintain a close and continuous talks issues related to the executive project and the rules for the bid.[5][6] With the delivery of the “Letter of Intent” to FISU in the second half of June, the bidding process began, which was approved by 95.4% of voting members present at the ADH general assembly in November and It was another milestone towards the official bid project.[7][8] Reception to the project grew exponentially and positively to the point that the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, German Olympic Sports Confederation also almost immediately approved the proposal and started talking to the cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Mülheim an der Ruhr so that a joint bid for the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region could be made, given their ease and proximity.[9][10][11]
The idea also excited the member schools of the ADH, as well as other partners in organized sport and the scientific concept. In September 2020, the feasibility study for a joint project involving 5 cities in the Rhine-Ruhr Region was released.[12][13] In September 2020, the feasibility study for a joint project involving 5 cities in the Rhine-Ruhr Region was released and approved in a virtual plenary session of the Landtag Nordrhein-Westfalen and which unanimously approved the proposal on 20 October 2020.[14] In mid-March 2021, the ADH was able to report that the bid book had been submitted to FISU within the deadline.[15][16][17] Following the final inspection visit by a FISU delegation from 7-5 May, the final decision of the FISU Executive Committee was pending at its meeting on 15 May 2021 in Düsseldorf with a decision in favor of the regional proposal.[18][19][20][21][22]
It was also expected that Budapest, the Hungarian capital that had applied to host the 2019 Summer Universiade, would make a proposal to FISU, but the lack of accommodation and some conditions forced the city to withdraw. However, it was already known that FISU was in favor of the German bid.[12]
Reactions to the German application
FISU was particularly impressed by the confident approach that the determination of a host location or region should be based on the results of a feasibility study or potential analysis, which was considered a very sensible approach, especially against the background of Hamburg's failed bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.This will be the fourth time that the World University Games will be held in a region, instead of being centralized in a host city.[23][5]
2025 Summer World University Games bidding results
The organising committee is planning to use existing and temporary sports facilities, with some existing being renovated for these games. Unlike previous editions, this edition will be completely decentralized. Instead of an athlete's village, athletes will stay in hotels and university residential buildings in the region. The competition venues are spread over five cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia state (Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Hagen and Mülheim) and the German capital Berlin.
Originally, Dusseldorf was scheduled to host some sporting events and the opening ceremonies, but due to changes related to logistics and the event size, the city withdraw and the event had to be replanned due to cost countemeasures.[24][25]
After this change,in September 2024, it was announced that Hagen and Berlin where added as host cities.Even though Berlin is more than 500km from the host region, the most plausible financial option for the organization was to transfer three sports to the city (swimming,diving and volleyball) while the competition area expanded to Hagen which will host some basketball tournament games.[26]
The MSV Arena in Duisburg will host the opening ceremonyThe Lohrheidestadion in Bochum will be the athletics venueLandschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, the planned venue for the closing ceremonyMesse Essen the venue for five sportsThe Duisburg Sport Park, the venue for the beach volleyballGrugahalle the main venue for the basketball tournament
In addition to the 15 compulsory sports, up to three optional sports can be chosen, while respecting the infrastructure and local demands. The organizing committee has proposed beach volleyball, rowing and 3x3 basketball, along with some Paralympic disciplines (which marks the first Summer World University Games to feature para-athletes and para-sport events, following its introduction at the 2025 Winter World University Games), as its optional sports.[27]
This will be the first time that 3x3 basketball will be part of the World University Summer Games program, while beach volleyball returns since it was last held at the 2013 Summer World University Games, while rowing remains after returning for the 2021 Summer World University Games.
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