The 26th Summer Universiade will be held in Shenzhen on Aug. 12-23, 2011. Shenzhen is the youngest city to host the Universiade.

26th Universiade

Shenzhen was named the host city for the 26th Summer Universiade by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in Turin, Italy on Jan. 16, 2007, becoming the youngest host city in the event's history.

Considered second in importance only to the Olympic Games, the Universiade is nicknamed the "Small Olympics." As explained by the FISU, while the Olympics challenges athletes to push the limits of "faster, higher and stronger," the Universiade is a place for university students to communicate and experience the charm of sports.

With more than 13,000 athletes and sports officials to attend the 26th Summer Universide, the scale of the Games will be unprecedented.

FISU

The leading institution of the Universiade is the International University Sports Federation (FISU), headquartered in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The current chairman is American George E. Killian.

The tenets of the FISU are friendship, fraternity, fair play, perseverance, integrity, cooperation and application.

Shenzhen Universiade 2011

Logo

Happy U, the winning logo of the 26th Universiade chosen from more than 2,000 entries from all over the world, is composed of three parts: colored dots in the shape of a semicircle at the top, the words "Universiade SHENZHEN 2011" in the middle and five stars at the bottom.

The basic colors of the dots are red, green, yellow, blue and black. These dots, when put together, make up the letter "U," which symbolizes the open, friendly and tolerant spirit of the Universiade. Standing alongside the word "Universiade," "SHENZHEN 2011" states the name of the host city and the year the Games will be held. The five stars represent the logo of the FISU, the organizer of the World University Games, or Universiade.

Opening and closing dates, venues

The opening ceremony of Shenzhen Universiade will be held at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center on Aug. 12, 2011. The closing ceremony will be held at the Window of the World theme park on Aug. 23. Without fireworks display or superstars staging performances, the ceremonies will be low-cost but still be spectacular.

Torch relay

The torch relay for the Universiade started on May 4 at Peking University. This was followed by a virtual torch relay that went through nearly 700 Chinese universities. It was the first virtual torch relay in the history of the Universiade.

Mascot: UU

UU, the mascot for the 26th Summer Universiade evolved from the event's logo "Happy U". UU is shiny, lively and colorful as well as futuristic. UU is a lovable smiling face. The designer tried to break away from the tradition of the Universiades' mascots that were based on animals and plants.

Core concept

The core concept of the Shenzhen Universiade is: "Start Here -- Make a Difference!" The concept manifests the pursuit of "harmony in diversity" in Chinese culture, which values the cultural diversity of nations and advocates the equal exchange and harmony among peoples with different religious and cultural backgrounds. It also highlights the individuality and diverse choices of young people from different countries. "Start Here -- Make a Difference!" also embodies the innovation of Shenzhen in hosting the Games.

Venues

Sixty venues will be prepared for training and competition. Of the 60 stadiums and gymnasiums, 21 are newly built, 29 are renovated or upgraded from old sports venues and 10 are temporary venues that will be demolished after the Games. Many sites will be used after the Games. For example, the Universiade Village will be converted into student dormitories for the Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology after the Games.

Volunteer services

The slogan for volunteers of the Shenzhen Universiade is "I'm here," which means that volunteers are everywhere for enthusiastic services. The Games plan to recruit 20,000 venue volunteers, 100,000 social volunteers and 40,000 city volunteers. The volunteers' station is called "U Station." A total of 818 "U Stations" will be operating during the Games.

Competitions

The Shenzhen Universiade will involve 24 sports with 306 events, the most in history. Compulsory events include track and field, swimming, diving, water polo, basketball, fencing, soccer, gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Optional events include weightlifting, shooting, cycling, yachting, taekwondo, golf, beach volleyball, badminton, archery, aerobics and chess. Aerobics, weightlifting and chess are listed in the World Universiade for the first time.

Official Web site:

http://www.sz2011.org

Official microblogs:

http://t.qq.com/sz2011; http://t.sina.com.cn/sz2011