WUHAN, Central China -- China's industrial city Wuhan has followed Beijing Olympics' marketing model as it is staging a national games of cities, said the organizers here on Friday.
The openning ceremony of China's City Games is held in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, October 25. [Xinhua] |
The 6th City Games has seen a bunch of partners with exclusive rights, sponsors and providers, which filled the organizers' purse half-full.
Chen Xudong, vice director of the marketing department for the Games, said they had 130 million yuan (about 17 million U.S. dollars) of the 250 million total operating cost coming from marketing operations.
"Actually what we are doing is just like the Beijing Olympic Games marketing. We cloned their model," said the former general manager of Wuhan soccer club in China's Super League Chen Xudong.
"There is nothing as important as the Olympics. So we did not expect to run the Games at a profit because you know the Games does not have that much influence," he said.
The City Games has always served as a place where Chinese national coaches scout future stars, so not many accomplished athletes show up, which makes it a less attractive competition to the general public.
"But we are trying our best to minimize the tax payers' burden, " he added."We noticed that sponsors may not want to support an unknown brand. But we don't like the idea that we have to ask the government to do everything for us."
It is the first time that a city hosts the City Games individually instead of the province help finance the Games.
The Wuhan organizing committee signed 10 partners including China Mobile and Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp (WISCO) with a miminal entrance fee of 10 million yuan (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars) each.
"We organize many events to give our sponsors' chances to promote themselves," he said, giving volunteer recruiting, chorus competition, torch relay as examples.
The organizers even put their sponsors in the opening ceremony. They devote much time to pay tribute to Wuhan's industry, or WISCO and Dongfeng Motor Corporation.
