Lecture series on "Body Gathering and Magic City": Listening to firsthand participants talk about the cultural dissemination behind sports events. Sports | Culture | Experiencers

August 8th this year is the 15th "National Fitness Day" in China, and this week is also the first "Sports Promotion Week" specified in the newly revised Sports Law. In order to tell the story of Shanghai's sports and promote the Shanghai style sports culture, during the first "Sports Promotion Week", the Shanghai sports culture brand "Tihui Magic City" plans to launch a series of cultural lectures for the 2023 "National Fitness Day · Sports Promotion Week" in Shanghai, inviting heavyweight guests from the sports industry to share the excitement and insights of sports culture with the citizens, and creating a dynamic and unique charm of Shanghai's sports culture atmosphere.

On August 11th, at the International Table Tennis Federation Museum and the China Table Tennis Museum, Chen Yiping, former first level inspector of the Shanghai Sports Bureau and chairman of the Shanghai Hearing Center of the International Sports Arbitration Court, gave a speech on the theme of "Sports Culture and Sports Events".

The speaker of this lecture, Chen Yiping, has long served as a leader in the education and sports system of Shanghai. He has served as a spokesperson for the Shanghai Sports Bureau, Vice Chairman of the China Table Tennis Association, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Sports Association, and Chairman of the Shanghai Table Tennis Association, among other leadership positions in various sports social organizations. He, who has been deeply involved in the sports industry in Shanghai for a long time, has a very deep affection and profound understanding of sports culture and sports events. In the lecture, he combined his own experience and focused on the unique role of sports events in enhancing the image of the city, serving the lives of citizens, showcasing urban vitality, and shaping urban character. He brought a cultural lecture full of "sports style" to nearly a hundred audience members on site.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes to promote cultural confidence and self-improvement, and create new brilliance in socialist culture. The newly revised Sports Law of China clearly states in Article 1 of the General Provisions that "promote the spirit of Chinese sports and cultivate Chinese sports culture.".

Sports culture is the spiritual core of sports events. From 1961, when Rong Guotuan won the world championship for the first time and shouted, "How many times can we fight in life? If we don't fight at this moment, when will we wait?" to the Chinese women's volleyball team, which insists on unity and cooperation and never says goodbye, to Qin Haiyang, who bites the green mountains and never relaxes on the field, Zhang Yufei, who prioritizes collectivism, and Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan, who "friendship first, competition second", inspiring generations of Chinese athletes to not fear strong opponents, work hard, and bring glory to the country on the field.

Sports culture is the embodiment of the value of sports events. Sports events have always been one of the core elements of Shanghai's construction as a globally renowned sports city, and also an important carrier for Shanghai's sports exchange with the outside world. For many years, Shanghai has become a popular destination for major international sports organizations to "check in" for competitions with an open and inclusive pattern and first-class hosting capabilities. A series of top international events such as the F1 China Grand Prix, ATP1000 Tennis Masters, IAAF Diamond League Shanghai Station, HSBC Golf Championship, Shanghai Marathon, Archery World Cup, Global Equestrian Championship, and Shanghai Rowing Open have flourished in Shanghai, forming a pattern of "monthly competition". These competitions also serve as a "city living room", further expanding the city's "sports circle" and showcasing the image of Shanghai and China to the world.

Chen Yiping still remembers vividly today. In 2005, the 48th World Table Tennis Championships were held in Shanghai. With close cooperation and unremitting efforts from all parties, the competition was "exciting, enthusiastic, complete, and successful", receiving high praise from guests from both China and abroad, various sectors of society, and the media. He praised the World Table Tennis Championships for "well organized, well served, and well received". At the closing ceremony, the then President of the International Table Tennis Federation, Sarah, passionately stated, "Although the World Table Tennis Championships only have 5 trophies, I would like to present the 6th trophy to the people of Shanghai. You have contributed the most unforgettable event to the world.".

Sports culture is also the fitness guide of sports events. In 1961, the 26th World Table Tennis Championships were held in Beijing, and Zhuang Zedong's two faced fast attack, Li Furong's left push and right attack, and Zhang Xielin's straight cut became the template for Chinese players to play. The superb skills of Chinese players have sparked a nationwide trend in table tennis. In 2005, as a countdown to the opening of the 48th World Table Tennis Championships, the New Year's Table Tennis Open was founded. It has been held for 17 consecutive sessions and has become the most influential amateur table tennis event in Shanghai, attracting table tennis enthusiasts of different ages and nationalities to participate.

In 1996, the first "horse race" began, with 700 foreign athletes from countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and Sweden among the 6000 participants. For the past 27 years, the "dandelion" effect of running has led mass long-distance running activities, not only making more and more citizens like this simple, easy to learn, and trainable fitness activity, but also making various distinctive running events spring up like mushrooms after rain. Running is becoming a shining business card of mass sports in Shanghai.

In the future, the sports culture presented through sports events will continue to compose a new chapter in Shanghai's sports in the new era. In order for sports culture stories to become "hot dramas", they need to be organically combined with urban temperament, starting from the core of sports and closely following urban development.

The selection of venue for this "Body Gathering Magic City" series of cultural lectures is also full of ingenuity. As one of the birthplaces of modern sports, Shanghai has nurtured rich sports history and culture. Several sports cultural museums, including the Shanghai Sports Museum, the International Table Tennis Federation Museum, the China Table Tennis Museum, and the China Martial Arts Museum, have also settled here. This cultural salon is linked with the International Table Tennis Federation Museum and the China Table Tennis Museum, integrating high-quality venue resources and achieving a two-way linkage between museum collections and cultural lectures, allowing the seeds of sports to sprout and grow in the hearts of more people.

The first "Sports Promotion Week" brought "Dongfeng" to the promotion of sports culture. Next, Shanghai Sports will also tell the story of Shanghai sports through various forms such as lectures, themed exhibitions, and cultural salons, creating a "long tail effect" of sports spirit and cultural transmission, and injecting a continuous stream of Shanghai style power into the construction of a sports powerhouse.