Shenzhen to become a city renowned for sports
The Shenzhen Bao'an Marathon kicked off at the Bao'an Waterfront Square on December 31, 2023, as part of the city's efforts to become a world renowned city for sports. As the concluding battle for the 2023 China Marathon, the marathon attracted 20,000 participants from 19 countries and regions, including China, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United States.
The event featured two categories: the full marathon (42.195 kilometers) and the half marathon (21.0975 kilometers). The half marathon had both the starting and finishing points at the Waterfront Square, while the full marathon started at the Waterfront Square and concluded at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Traditional folk culture performances, intangible cultural heritage displays, band performances, and traditional music acts in Bao'an District received widespread praise from participants.
To ensure the success of the event, the organizing committee recruited 2,561 volunteers, including 137 pre-race volunteers, 206 expo volunteers, 525 medical volunteers, and 1,693 race-day volunteers. In anticipation of high temperatures, the committee set up four fixed spray points along the course, 19 water and beverage stations, providing 200,000 bottles of drinking water and beverages, along with 77,600 cooling sponges.
The Shenzhen Bao'an Marathon, in its sixth edition this year since its inaugural event in 2016, has been a significant sporting spectacle.
In the past two months, Bao'an has hosted prestigious events such as the Greater Bay Area Badminton Mixed Team Tournament (Finals), the 2023 World Sailing Match Race Shenzhen· Bao'an Finals, the 43rd World Amateur Go Championship, and the third "Bay Area Cup" Chinese Go Grandmasters Tournament.