German Summer Universiade in the pipeline for 2025

LAUSANNE – With both, the Summer and Winter Universiades of 2023 nearly confirmed, potential host cities are now setting their sights on the year 2025, to showcase themselves through this unique biennial multi-sport event.

Members of the Rhein-Ruhr 2025 bid committee on an earlier visit to LausanneA German delegation from the German University Sports Federation (ADH) traveled to Lausanne to meet with the FISU leadership, in preparation for a possible bid for the Summer Universiade 2025. The visiting group was led by ADH President Jörg Förster, FISU Executive Committee Member Dr. Verena Burk (University of Tübingen) and ADH Secretary-General Dr. Christoph Fischer. Also part of the delegation were Carla Wuhrer and Phillip Michler of ‘Proprojekt’, an agency that is conducting a feasibility check for the ADH regarding the hosting of the Universiade.

“We welcome this initiative from our German colleagues,” said FISU Secretary General & CEO Eric Saintrond. “We also welcome the fact that this is a very sensible approach, with a feasibility study. For Germany, it is important, considering that Hamburg’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics did not pass muster with their citizens. So, it is good that they are taking this sure-footed approach and we at FISU appreciate that.”

The German delegation met with Eric Saintrond, FISU Director General Paulo Ferreira as well as Jing Zhao and Brian Carrer from FISU’s Summer Universiade Department. The representatives discussed the current status and previous actions with regards to preparation for a potential bid. FISU representatives were pleased with the initiative and encouraged the German delegation to continue their efforts in this direction.

“Thirty years after the Summer Universiade 1989 in Duisburg, people in North-Rhine Westphalia still rave about it,” said Dr. Verena Burk. “We know there is a high enthusiasm for major sport events in Germany and we would be very happy and proud to welcome the FISU Family to a Summer Universiade in Germany, in 2025.”

The representatives discussed some basic frameworks and agreed that talks will be advanced once a host city or region has been identified through the feasibility check. These further talks and a possible decision are expected this summer. Until then, the ADH and FISU will remain in close and continuous communication.

The American city of Lake Placid was confirmed as the host of the 2023 Winter Universiade during FISU’s Executive Committee meeting in September 2018 and the confirmation of Russian city Ekaterinburg as host of the 2023 Summer Universiade is expected during FISU’s Executive Committee meeting in July in Naples, Italy.