Shanghai makes world's largest extreme sports festival more accessible

The Shanghai leg of the FISE World Series, as well as an urban sports festival, will run along Xuhui riverside from Oct 15 to 18 with free entry across all zones as a dry run for the 2028 Olympic Qualification Series, according to the news briefing held on Friday in Shanghai.

As the world's largest extreme sports festival, FISE launched its Shanghai leg at West Bund in 2023 under a 10-year exclusive deal. The 2025 edition was upgraded from a cultivation event to a landmark Shanghai sports fixture, drawing 80,000 visitors over four days.

This year's lineup includes 18 competitions across 5 disciplines, with over 500 athletes registered. The two flagship UCI BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cups will gather the world's top 10 male and female riders, including multiple Olympic and world champions. The flatland competition will be staged for the first time at the West Bund Dream Center dock — the planned venue for the 2028 Olympic Qualification Series 3x3 basketball event — aligning operations with Olympic standards.

"We are moving beyond the traditional enclosed competition format, integrating courses into public riverside spaces and commercial venues with multi-level viewing access," Chen Anda, deputy general manager of Shanghai West Bund Development Group, said.

"This not only lowers barriers for spectators, but also explores a new model of mutual empowerment between sports events, urban business and daily life, bringing more vitality to the integration of culture, commerce, tourism and sports."

Covering 180,000 square meters — more than double last year's scale — the event will link surrounding business districts and concurrent art and exhibition activities, creating a full consumption chain of viewing, experience and spending.

The briefing also released the white paper on urban light sports. Figures show China's urban light sports market hit 1.1 trillion yuan ($164.4 billion) in 2025, growing 12 to 15 percent annually with 260 million participants. Sports like skateboarding and BMX fit naturally into Shanghai's dense urban fabric, with West Bund as a leading example.

Song Yulin, general manager of Hurricane Group Asia Pacific, said FISE brings far more than competition — it delivers a full urban sports culture. Through free access and diverse experiences, extreme sports are growing from a niche street culture to a mass-participation activity, centered on the spirit of pushing personal limits.

Centered on FISE, West Bund has been expanding its urban sports infrastructure. According to Chen, the flagship FISEHOOD extreme sports park already runs youth training programs. Going forward, West Bund will build more sports parks and revitalize existing urban spaces, preparing for the Olympic qualifiers and supporting Shanghai's goal of becoming a world-class sports city.