Spotlight: Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade

In August 2017, Taipei was host to 12 days of showcasing phenomenal athletic skill in over 21 sports, putting all eyes on the 7,376 athletes from 134 countries competing in 271 medal events. The Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade all started with a spectacular opening ceremony at the Taipei Stadium. All 24,000 seats in the stadium sold out, full of spectators and athletes ready for the Universiade that would make history.

The highly anticipated opening ceremony was filled with an impressive display of local culture and history, as well as a remarkable lighting of the cauldron by Chen Chin-Feng—the first baseball player from Chinese Taipei to reach a Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The home crowd chanted his name while he was on centre stage, ready to literally ignite the excitement and passion for the home crowd.

Remarkably, the hosts of Chinese Taipei finished the Universiade with 26 gold, 34 silver, and 30 bronze medals—an astonishing number of medals for Chinese Taipei, putting them at a pleasant but unexpected third place finish in the overall medal count closely behind Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The buzz of the Summer Universiade spread rapidly throughout the region in 2017, as the word “Universiade” was the most searched word on Google in Taipei—showcasing just how excited the host nation really was!

The 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei holds a special place in FISU history as it was a remarkable event showcasing sports, cultural activities and educational programmes. As the Universiade was passed on to the next host city of Napoli, FISU President Oleg Matytsin officially declared this edition of the Universiade closed, and left the home country with these inspiring words:

“As athletes prepare to go home, I know that they will take part of Taipei with them. I know that this city, and these people will have a special place in their hearts for years to come,” said President Matytsin. “The athletes who are here will go on to be the leaders of tomorrow—they have learnt from the values of sport and also from the values of Taipei. With that, I hereby declare the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade officially closed!”