World Winter Sports Expo 2026 Opens, Charting a New Decade for Ice and Snow and Outdoor Industries
BEIJING, Oct. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The grand event of the global ice and snow industry, the World Winter Sports Expo 2026 (WWSE 2026), was held in Beijing on October 15. As an important legacy of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, this Expo aligns with China's "15th Five‑Year Plan" directives for the ice and snow industry. Its core mission is to expand the ice and snow economy, cultivate new productive forces in the sector, and promote deep integration of culture, sports, and tourism. It brought together representatives from government authorities, industry leaders, cultural‑tourism‑sports experts, outdoor film and media creators, and institutions across the entire value chain. Focusing on three strategic directions, upgrading the ice and snow industry, deepening culture‑sports‑tourism integration, and empowering the outdoor economy through technology, this WWSE features an opening ceremony, a main conference, multiple parallel sessions, and special thematic events. Together, these form a high‑end platform for achievement showcase, intellectual exchange, business matchmaking, and resource aggregation, aimed at driving higher‑quality growth for China's ice and snow and outdoor sectors.
Positioned at the pivotal starting point of a new decade of development, this Expo delivers a comprehensive upgrade: internationalization continues to reach new heights, the entire ice and snow value chain is presented in a coordinated way, scientific and technological innovation empowers the sector, ice and snow destinations pursue diversified growth, youth engagement in ice and snow sports advances through systematic promotion, forum agendas focus on niche tracks, the Ice and Snow Carnival offers a whole-scenario experience, industry-academia-research collaboration and industry services assume a stronger leading role, and a range of measures inject fresh vitality into the ice and snow economy.
At the Opening Ceremony of the WWSE 2026 and Global Ice and Snow Industry Summit, more than 200 domestic and international dignitaries gathered to witness the Expo's launch. Among them were: Yu Zaiqing, Honorary Member of the International Olympic Committee and Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee; Yue Li, Acting District Mayor of Shijingshan and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee of Beijing Municipality; Tong Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General and Office Director of the Liaoning Provincial Organizing Committee of the 15th National Winter Games; Zhu Dongfang, President of Asia Data Group; Franz Roessler, Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, and Head of the ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Beijing; Hong Ping, Vice President of Beijing Sport University; Wang Dong, Deputy Director of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Sports, and Full-Time Deputy Director of the Competition Department of the Liaoning Provincial Organizing Committee for the 15th National Winter Games; Gao Zhaoyi, Member of the Leading Party Members Group and Director of the Sports Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Zhan Wei, Vice Mayor of the Fushun Municipal People's Government of Liaoning Province; Zhang Li, Co-President of Asia Data Group; Li Jianrou, Olympic Short Track Speed Skating Champion; Wang Bingyu, World Curling Champion; Zhao Nannan, World Short Track Speed Skating Champion; and Jiang Yiyi, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Dean, School of Leisure Sports and Tourism, Beijing Sport University.
Opening Ceremony Held in Grand Style, Uniting All Partners to Chart the Industry's Blueprint Together
On the morning of October 15, the Opening Ceremony of the WWSE 2026 and Global Ice and Snow Industry Summit was held. Closely following the development direction for the ice and snow industry set out in China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the Opening Ceremony took on the important missions of policy promotion, industry gathering, international dialogue and achievement release, and built a bridge for high-level dialogue among government agencies, international sports organizations, industry companies and research, cultural and tourism institutions. Serving both as a concentrated showcase of China's achievements in the ice and snow industry and as a key platform for the industry to assess trends, connect with resources and build consensus, it injected strong momentum into the innovative development of the ice and snow and outdoor industries throughout the year.
At the Opening Ceremony, Honorary Member of the International Olympic Committee and Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Yu Zaiqing, delivered the opening address. 11 years ago, he said, the Expo was launched alongside Beijing's successful bid to host the Olympic Winter Games. Today, it has grown into one of the world's leading platforms in the ice and snow industry. It has driven China's shift from being a major consumer market to becoming a powerful industry leader, and the Winter Olympics legacy continues to provide momentum. On this basis, he called for upholding the Olympic spirit of "Together", deepening international cooperation on ice and snow, and advancing the intelligent, green and international development of the industry.
Yue Li, Acting District Mayor of Shijingshan and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shijingshan District Committee of Beijing Municipality, then delivered an address. The Expo has grown into an influential international ice and snow event and serves as an important link for Shijingshan to connect with global ice and snow resources. As a host district of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Shijingshan has continued to revitalize the Winter Olympic legacy, build a four-season events matrix, and promote the integrated development of ice and snow and the events economy. He expressed the hope to share the Winter Olympic legacy and jointly explore the blue ocean of the ice and snow industry with all parties, so as to help advance the global ice and snow economy.
As the representative of this year's Guest Province of Honor, Tong Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General and Office Director of the Liaoning Provincial Organizing Committee of the 15th National Winter Games, delivered an address at the Opening Ceremony. She noted that Liaoning has deep ties with WWSE, and this year it is drawing on its status as Guest Province of Honor to present the province's ice and snow resources, industrial achievements and cooperation opportunities. With the 15th National Winter Games set to be held in Liaoning in 2028, it is expected to become the first in China to have hosted both the National Games and the National Winter Games. Liaoning looks forward to learning from international experience through the Expo and extended a warm invitation to all parties to join it for the 15th National Winter Games.
Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director of the International Olympic Committee, then delivered an address by video. He reviewed Beijing 2022's experience of hosting the Games across multiple competition zones and contrasted it with Milano Cortina 2026's approach of tailoring the Games to local conditions, proposing that the Games should adapt to the host rather than the host adapting to the venues. He also affirmed the value of forward-looking planning for Olympic venues and their post-Games reuse, and noted that climate change is confronting the industry with challenges ranging from snow resources to energy consumption, making the transformation of the ice and snow industry all the more urgent. He expressed the hope that those engaged in the industry would work together to explore a sustainable development path for ice and snow sports.
In the keynote speech session, Hong Ping, Vice President of Beijing Sport University, and Former Deputy Director of the Winter Sports Management Center, General Administration of Sport of China, shared his insights under the theme of "Reflections and Explorations on the High-Quality Development of the Ice and Snow Industry — Trend Transformation, Intelligent Manufacturing, and Safety Governance". He noted that China's sports market is huge in scale and that new indoor ice and snow formats are rising rapidly, with ice and snow consumption becoming an important lever for boosting domestic demand, yet the industry's development still falls short in several respects. He therefore called for a people-centered approach, building a coupled "human–machine–environment" mega-system and developing fifth-generation ski products that are science-based, smart, green, healthy and safe. This will drive the high-quality development of the ice and snow industry through demand pull and scientific and technological innovation.
In their addresses, Alexander Ospelt, President of International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS); Olle Dahlin, Honorary President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU); and Einars Fogelis, President of the International Luge Federation (FIL), conveyed a shared message from the global ice and snow industry: staying open and collaborative, and working together for the industry's development. They affirmed that the Expo has built a platform for global ice and snow exchange and cooperation, recognized the rapid growth of ice and snow sports in Asia, shared the outcomes of Milano Cortina 2026, and highlighted the importance of sustainable development in ice and snow sports. Looking ahead, they expressed the hope of using the Expo to deepen cross-regional and cross-generational exchanges and to jointly advance the continued prosperity of winter sports.
In the report release session, Co-President of Asia Data Group Zhang Li launched the "Report on China's Winter Sports Industry Development (2026)".