At year-end, it's the time when major companies formulate advertising and marketing plans for the coming year and set budgets. A public relations firm in Beijing, acting as the business solicitor for an international cycling race in a southern Chinese city, has been reaching out but has found few interested enterprises. According to the project manager at the firm, based on past experience, the international cycling race in this southern city will likely still have to rely on the local government mobilizing local businesses next year to secure title sponsors and other backers. This reliance on the government to attract sponsors, rather than the event’s own “appeal,” is not unique to this race — some events are even national or international-level competitions. Using sports events to showcase a city’s image has been the choice of many Chinese cities. Road cycling, marathons and other races that help display urban landscapes have been gaining popularity in China. This year alone, nearly 100 international road cycling races with the word “circuit” in their names were held nationwide, and over 20 cities hosted international marathons. But most of the expenses for hosting these events are borne by the government. Chen Shaofeng, director of the China Sports Industry Research Center at Peking University, said at the 2012 International Sports Industry Summit Forum in Beijing: “In hosting sports events, there comes a point where government support must ‘let go,’ relying instead on social resources to organize events, rather than providing increasing subsidies.”
　　Due to the severe “homogenization” of events and their limited influence and public participation, only a small number of the various competitions held in China each year are actually profitable. Direct government subsidies or mobilizing large local enterprises to sponsor have become the key to keeping these events running.
　　Seeing the high enthusiasm of Chinese local governments for hosting events, many international competitions have also entered China. John Negran, the first vice president of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), recently pitched to government officials from across the country in Beijing, hoping that WBO’s international professional boxing events could be hosted in more Chinese cities. Negran cited the huge media impact of professional boxing in the United States, as well as the resulting high TV broadcasting rights revenue, sponsorship income and box office takings, to highlight the untapped potential value of such events in the Chinese market. These highly persuasive figures may sway some Chinese local officials in the audience, but Cheng Shao Tong, secretary general of the Asia Sports Industry Association, offered a different view: “Highly internationalized events organized by international bodies are also extremely costly to host. When organizing these events, one must not only consider their potential global influence but also the high investment required.”
　　The China Open held in Beijing and the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai have so far failed to turn a profit, with the majority of the economic returns going into the pockets of international sports organizations.
　　“As the saying goes, rely on the mountain for food and the water for sustenance,” Cheng Shao Tong said. “When hosting sports events, localities might do well to focus more on projects that reflect local characteristics and cultural traditions. Such events can maximize both social and economic benefits.”
　　March 30 this year was a “big day” for Beijing sports. On that day, Beijing Guoan faced Tianjin Teda at the Workers' Stadium, while Beijing Jinyu played against Guangdong Hongyuan in the CBA finals. Li Yingchuan, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, recently said that those two matches — one in football and one in basketball — captured the hearts of fans across the city and caused a huge stir, something unprecedented in Beijing’s history. Since the 2008 Olympics, Beijing has been striving to build itself into an international sports center city, working hard to attract and host various internationally influential events. But even world-class competitions like the China Open struggle to have the same pull among local audiences as local teams like Guoan and Jinyu. Another source of pride for Beijing is the Beijing International Marathon, which has been held for over 30 years. The biggest asset of this event is the participation of Beijing residents. On the first day of registration for this year’s Beijing Marathon, the number of sign-ups from the general public exceeded 20,000, and within three days, all 30,000 spots were filled. In many other Chinese cities that also hold marathons, the government still needs to organize schools, enterprises and other units to participate in order to demonstrate broad public involvement.
　　“I know that many international events are now vying to enter China, and many Chinese cities are very keen to host them. But I’m not sure whether Chinese cities can achieve their desired goals in the process of hosting these events,” said David Sprott, chairman of the Foundation of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand, in a recent interview with reporters. “I’m from Melbourne, Australia. Do you know what Melbourne’s proudest asset in sports is?”
　　As the host city of the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in professional tennis, isn’t Melbourne’s proudest sports asset this tennis event? Sprott’s answer is indeed not the Australian Open — “It’s the passion and participation of Melburnians in sports. It’s the city’s deep-rooted sports culture that makes it a top-tier global sports event destination, not just because of the Australian Open.”
　　“A region’s sports participation rate and sports culture are the aspects I pay most attention to when evaluating its sports industry. Australia has also made mistakes in the development of its sports industry, namely placing too much emphasis on the events themselves. In reality, sports events cannot be separated from the broader ‘big picture’ of society. The level of social sports culture development is the foundation that any successful sports event relies on.”