Third largest sporting event in the world
Kick off to the test run for the Olympics – in Germany
07/16/2025 – 05:46 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
In the coming days, Germany will be hosting the students’ world games. Hardly anyone knows the event, and it is considered a test run for the Olympics in Germany.
The “Fisu World University Games” will start in Germany with a ceremonial opening ceremony in Duisburg this Wednesday. For twelve days, more than 9,000 athletes up to 25 years from around 150 countries will measure themselves against around 150 countries by July 27th. They fight for medals in 18 sports, including athletics, basketball, gymnastics, beach volleyball, rowing and tennis.
The world games of the students, formerly known as the “Universiade”, are the third largest multisport event in the world after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since 1959 you have been taking place in a summer and winter variant every two years and are organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). After the edition in Duisburg in 1989, Germany will be hosting for the second time this year.
The event is a test run on a small scale for the German Olympic plans. 305 German athletes and 177 supervisors form a record contingent of the host. The center of the games is the Rhein-Ruhr region with the cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Hagen. There are also some competitions in Berlin.
The sports competitions are accompanied by an extensive cultural and festival program. In addition to the appearances of Ayliva, Montez, Querbeat and the WDR radio orchestra at the opening ceremony in the MSV Arena in Duisburg, the band Deichkind plays at the final ceremony in the Duisburg landscape park (July 27). In addition, there are their own festival programs in Bochum (Ruhr Games Festival), Duisburg (Beach Festival) and Essen (Park Festival).