The German city of Karlsruhe is to stage the 2029 edition of The World Games, becoming the first to host the multi-sport event for a second time.
The event’s opening and closing ceremonies will be held at BBBank Wildpark Stadium, the 34,000-capacity home of German 2. Bundesliga football club Karlsruher SC. According to the Karlsruhe bid submission, no new venues will be built for The World Games.
After nomination by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), the south-western German city, located near the French border, will host the IWGA flagship event in the summer of 2029, 40 years after it organised TWG 1989.
The 13th edition of The World Games will welcome around 3,000 athletes from more than 100 countries and regions to compete in about 35 sports.
IWGA president José Perurena said: “Germany has demonstrated a strong commitment towards The World Games and provided excellent conditions for our athletes to perform at their best in the past in Karlsruhe and Duisburg. We are deeply grateful for this, and we are excited to be returning to Karlsruhe again.”
A diverse range of host venues
The central venues for the 2029 World Games include the Karlsruhe festival grounds, the congress centre with the Black Forest Hall and the modernised town hall, as well as the castle park and the Old Slaughterhouse. These and the many other locations offer “a broad cultural and sporting supplementary and entertainment programme”, according to local organisers.
Jürgen Scholz, President of Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg, said: “The fact that The World Games 2029 will take place in Karlsruhe is fantastic.
“Karlsruhe is a sports city with sports-loving citizens. They prove this, for example, every year at the indoor athletics meeting and did so in 1989 at the first World Games in Karlsruhe. I am sure that the athletes will receive a warm welcome in the city and the surrounding area at The World Games, and that the spectators from Baden-Württemberg and the surrounding regions will ensure an impressive atmosphere in all the competition venues.”
The next edition of TWG will be in the Chinese city of Chengdu in August 2025. The most recent Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama in 2022.
