2016It is destined to be a big year for sports. In the coming hot summer, besides the highly anticipated2016Rio de Janeiro Olympics, there will soon be another visual feast of athletic competition—8August28, the 3rd China·Inner Mongolia International Equestrian Festival will open in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia (hereinafter referred to as the "International Equestrian Festival").
2016In5August15, a press conference for the International Equestrian Festival was held in Beijing, organized by the Sports Bureau of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In20142014, Inner Mongolia hosted its first Equestrian Festival. This year marks the third edition, but it is an unusual one and also a brand-new beginning. That’s because Inner Mongolia has comprehensively upgraded the Equestrian Festival.
Whether in terms of integrated resources, the degree of innovation, the market-oriented approaches adopted, or the execution, it can be called a pioneering effort—and it is a massive, new-concept sports industry reform initiative led by the government.
Firstly, it shows “foresight and bold innovation” in planning.
Tan Jingfeng, Director of the Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, stated at the press conference that the 3rd Inner Mongolia Equestrian Festival will expand in scope and reach out further, inviting equestrian enthusiasts from neighboring countries and regions to participate. By organizing a series of events, it aims to organically blend international quality with ethnic characteristics to build an international equestrian brand for Inner Mongolia.
The eight words “expand in scope and reach out further,” mentioned by Director Tan, actually encompass a very large integrated volume and forward-thinking innovative thinking—it can be said to be unprecedented.
Firstly, this Equestrian Festival integrates almost all competitions and activities related to equestrian sports in the autonomous region, including the Inner Mongolia Equestrian Competition, the Ordos International Nadam Fair, the International Speed Horse Grand Prix, and the China Horse Capital Racing Festival. Moreover, the Equestrian Festival spans the entire year in terms of its time frame. In this sense, the Equestrian Festival is no longer just a carnival in the usual sense.
At the same time, cultural activities have been planned around the equestrian sports industry, such as the Equestrian Industry Summit Forum, Equestrian Festival Fashion Design Competition, Equestrian Festival Photography Competition, Equestrian Festival Calligraphy and Sculpture Competition, and Equestrian Festival Equestrian Equipment Exhibition.
At the press conference, Director Tan shared his vision for the development of Inner Mongolia’s equestrian sports industry: this edition of the Inner Mongolia International Equestrian Festival, themed “Showcasing the Charm of Equestrian Events, Promoting the Progress of Ethnic Sports, and Boosting the Development of the Sports Industry,” will focus this year on competitions and adopt a “sports industry + equestrian industry” development model. It aims to build a strategic brand cluster led by the Inner Mongolia International Equestrian Festival and establish a development framework that includes horse breeding, selection, training, racing, appreciation, equestrian industry development, and the promotion of horse culture.+This is a new approach to development that is based on the current situation, looks to the future, and seeks mutual growth and integration to jointly expand the sports industry.
This is a forward-looking development mindset that seeks mutual benefits and common growth through integration.
At the same time, on this basis, a clear and well-defined implementation strategy has been formulated. Li Zhiyou, Deputy Director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, summarized this as a strategic direction of “popularization, internationalization, digitalization, and diversification.”
Popularization: In addition to professional equestrian competitions, the International Equestrian Festival also incorporates many mass-oriented sports events and activities, aiming to allow the public to not only watch the events but also participate, transforming from spectators into participants.
Internationalization: The plan is to introduce more international teams in the future, include some international competitions, and adopt relevant international competition regulations, among other things. In the future, it is also planned to add branches outside the autonomous region and even abroad, bringing ethnic sports to the international stage and forming a unique equestrian sportsIPbrand.
Digitalization: Gradually improve the strategic plan of “equestrian sports + internet,” leveraging the advantages of internet dissemination, big data management, and cross-regional convenience. Truly realize the perfect integration of the International Equestrian Festival with “internet + sports.”+Internet+Sports
Diversification: While featuring a wide array of exciting sports events, it will also incorporate cultural activities and industrial development activities related to the equestrian industry.
On the basis of this comprehensive, well-planned system for the development of the equestrian sports industry, the autonomous region has demonstrated “swift action and decisive implementation” in the specific execution of this year’s International Equestrian Festival.
Regarding the specific measures and progress in the market-oriented operation of this International Equestrian Festival, Fan Chunyang, Director of the Inner Mongolia Shooting, Archery and Equestrian Sports Management Center, stated: First, the International Equestrian Festival has undergone an overall brand upgrade, design, and packaging, with a unified visual identity system, unified competition philosophy, and service slogan—all aimed at incorporating the autonomous region’s competitions under a unified brand. Second, they have launched an “internet ++The strategy of "equestrian" involves establishing a comprehensive internet communication platform, including the creation of an official website for the International Equestrian Festival, as well as online channels such as official accounts and Weibo to disseminate information about the festival’s events and equestrian culture. This ensures the full integration of the online internet system with offline competitions. Moving forward, we will also delve into big data related to the International Equestrian Festival, conducting the collection, development, and operation of all event information, athlete data, horse data, and more. We are fully committed to making the International Equestrian Festival a benchmark of "internet+sports."
Currently, the official website, WeChat public account, and Weibo of the International Equestrian Festival, which feature a unified brand identity, have been launched.
As the organizer of this edition of the International Equestrian Festival, Inner Mongolia Weibu Sports Industry Co., Ltd.CEOXu Jin stated: "For this International Equestrian Festival, the regional government has built a well-structured sports industry platform, creating an excellent environment for promoting the market-oriented development of the International Equestrian Festival. This allows enterprises engaged in event operations to leverage the government's leading role in the early stages of the festival's operation, while fully utilizing the competitive advantages of private enterprises in the market, thereby building a healthy development space for the future comprehensive commercialization of the International Equestrian Festival."
In fact, the reason why the regional government can make such a large-scale planning and layout for the International Equestrian Festival is an inevitable outcome driven by numerous favorable factors — it’s truly a case of perfect timing, location, and human synergy.
2014Year10month, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption" (commonly referred to as:46Document No. ), elevating the sports industry to a national strategy. Inner Mongolia, with its unique natural environmental resources, possesses significant advantages and potential in the development of the sports industry. Having the opportunity to step onto the fast track of economic development under this major strategic opportunity and achieve leapfrog growth is a matter of perfect timing.
The advantage of location is self-evident — the Mongolian people are a horseback-riding ethnic group and have unparalleled advantages in developing equestrian sports. Therefore, in response to the spirit of46Document No. , in2015year9month, the regional sports bureau issued the "Implementation Opinions of the People's Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption," which proposed the "equestrian" sports brand as one of the key projects for the region’s sports development.
The factor of human effort is evident from the strategic planning and execution capability demonstrated by the regional leadership regarding the International Equestrian Festival. Today, the regional sports bureau presented the new plan for the "International Equestrian Festival" at the press conference, fully showcasing the bold reform determination of the bureau’s leadership. Because this is entirely a government-led, comprehensive, large-scale, innovative, swift, and well-organized reform initiative in the sports industry — an extraordinary transformation. It will have a profound impact and serve as a benchmark for the development of Inner Mongolia’s equestrian sports industry, the entire Inner Mongolia sports industry, and even China’s sports industry as a whole. It is worthy of continued attention and anticipation in the future.This is just one example. Today, the Autonomous Region Sports Bureau unveiled the new plan for the "International Equestrian Festival" at a press conference, fully demonstrating the bold reform drive of the bureau’s leadership. This marks a government-led initiative that is comprehensive in system improvement, massive in scale, groundbreaking in innovation, swift in execution, and well-organized—an extraordinary transformation. It will have far-reaching impacts and set a benchmark for the development of Inner Mongolia’s equestrian sports industry, the broader sports sector in Inner Mongolia, and even for China’s sports industry as a whole. It is worthy of continued attention and anticipation in the future.