Sports events become Wuhan's new calling card

A total of 26,000 runners participated in the Wuhan Marathon on April 16, passing through many famous landmarks in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province.

Runners are ready to rush out from the starting line at Wuhan Marathon in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, April 16, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Pei)

First held in 2016, the Wuhan Marathon has grown fast, becoming one of the highest-level marathons in China.

In recent years, Wuhan has hosted more than 100 sporting events, including marathons, the Wuhan Open, one of the top tennis competitions in China, the Tour of China, a professional road bicycle stage race, and the Badminton Asia Championships. These events are becoming a bright calling card for the city.

Taking the Wuhan Marathon as an opportunity, Wuhan held the 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Expo and the 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Week.

The 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Week is the first sports consumption week the city has held to drive economic development through sports and boost the innovative development of the city's sports industry.

The 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Expo and the 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Week open in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Pei)

The 2023 Wuhan Sports Consumption Expo attracted the participation of around 140 enterprises, including those operating sports events and sportswear and equipment companies, linking sports events, consumption and industry, and boosting interaction among consumers, sports brands and markets.

During the sports consumption week, Wuhan issued 10 million yuan ($1.46 million) in consumption coupons to further unleash the consumption potential.

In 2022, Wuhan issued 26.52 million yuan worth of sports consumption coupons, which helped to stimulate 111 million yuan in transactions.

By 2025, the size of the city's sports industry is estimated to reach 110 billion yuan, and the size of the city's sports consumption is expected to hit 26 billion yuan.

In Wuhan, mass participation in exercise is increasing in popularity.

Statistics show that residents in Wuhan who often take part in exercising account for 49.64 percent of the city's population and 92.53 percent of the city's residents reach the national physical fitness criteria. The area for sports utilization per capita in the city stands at 2.45 square meters.