Program to promote Universiade 2021 launched in Beijing

Chengdu, set to host the 31st Summer Universiade in 2021, on Wednesday launched a program encouraging global companies to join the sports event.

The event's marketing initiatives have to date concentrated three major areas: sponsorship, franchising goods and ticketing.

Chengdu will make all-out efforts to make this event, themed Youth & Future, a complete success, said Jing Jing, deputy director of the event's preparatory committee and vice-mayor of Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

She added that Chengdu will play its due role in ensuring the provision of services for the event, push forward people-to-people exchanges, and strive to provide increased opportunities for cooperation.

The Summer Universiade is an international university sports and cultural event that staged every two years.

The forthcoming 2021 games marks the first time Chengdu or any city in China's southwestern and western regions host such international sports event, the committee said.

It is estimated that over 10,000 athletes and officials from over 170 countries and regions will attend the Summer Universiade 2021, it added.

During the event launch in Beijing on Wednesday, four ambassadors for were selected and nominated, including Olympic medalists and singer Zhang Liangying, who were born in Sichuan.

In an interview afterwards, they said it was an exciting opportunity to be ambassadors to promote Chengdu to the world.

Huang Rui in Beijing contributed to this story.