Urban festival brings Olympic athletes closer to audience

The Urban Festival of the Olympic Qualifier Series officially kicked off last week in Shanghai, with all types of tournament tickets going on sale.

The series will be held at Shanghai's Huangpu Riverside venue from May 16 to 19.

Featuring BMX freestyle, skateboarding, breaking, and sport climbing, the series offers athletes the chance to win a spot at this summer's Paris Olympics, with the Hungarian capital Budapest hosting the second stop from June 20 to 23.

The urban festival, which is launched for the series, will be divided into two stages.

According to Luo Wenhua, deputy director general of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, the first stage is to warm up the overall series atmosphere in key cities by holding related events of the four sports from April 16 to May 15.

Various activities will also take place in local elementary schools and shopping malls during this stage, allowing residents to experience the charm of the competitions.

After May 15, the sports festival will gather the audience at the Huangpu Riverside venue for a four-day on-site carnival experience.

Experience areas will be set in the urban park, including a sport climbing circle designed in the pop style, a skateboarding circle designed in the three-dimensional origami style, a breaking circle designed in the hip-hop graffiti style, and a BMX freestyle circle designed in the industrial log style.

Other activities, such as inviting professional coaches to guide the audience to experience the sports and arranging the interaction between the contestants and the audience, will also be carried out on-site.

"You'll have the chance to see Olympic champions and even give high-fives to them," Luo said.

All types of tickets are now available on ticketing platform Damai and Olympics.com.

"With one ticket, you get to see many sports during the same day, attend the Urban Festival, and you can stay for many hours enjoying the activities on the ground. It is going be a unique and fantastic opportunity for fans in Shanghai to see a great Olympic event," said Pierre Fratter-Bardy, Olympic Games strategy & development associate director of the International Olympic Committee.

Affirming Shanghai's experience in hosting world-class events, Fratter-Bardy is very confident with Shanghai as the host city of the series and the urban festival.

"The series will be displayed for the first time in Shanghai. This is also the first time the IOC has organized this competition in close collaboration with the international federation of the four sports... We have full confidence in the ability of Shanghai and our partners to hold a great show," Fratter-Bardy added.