Changchun Great Winter Games fire was successfully collected in Turin, Italy Chasing dreams of ice and snow to stay youthful (the Great Winter Games is coming)

Reporters Ji Fang Xie Yahong Men Jiewei

On October 8, local time, the fire collecting ceremony for the Changchun 2027 33rd Universiade Winter Games (hereinafter referred to as the "Changchun Winter Games") was held in Turin, Italy. Amid the music, the flames danced. Renault Eide, President of the International University Sports Federation, and Gu Gang, Mayor of Changchun City, Jilin Province, jointly lit the tinder basin with the torch of the first Universiade in 1959. Gu Gang led the fire from the tinder basin to the Changchun Winter Games tinder lamp. This cluster of fire is about to cross the mountains and seas and rush to Changchun, Jilin, China.

At present, the preparations for the Changchun Winter Games have entered the sprint stage. Since Changchun officially won the right to host the 33rd Universiade Winter Games in November 2025, in less than a year, various key node tasks have been implemented one after another, and the preparation work is progressing smoothly.

This is the first time that the Great Winter Games has been held in China after 18 years since it was held in Harbin, Heilongjiang in 2009. Young people from all over the world will use skates to cut across the ice and snowboards to cross the pine forest to participate in this winter event with the theme slogan of "Chasing Dreams of Ice and Snow, Staying in Youth forever".

A cluster of fire spreads across the mountains and seas

Turin, Italy, is the birthplace of the Universiade. In 1959, the first Universiade opened here. Since 2018, Turin has become the permanent home of the FIU’s “Fire of Knowledge”. Since then, the host city of every summer or winter Universiade will return here to collect fire.

At the fire collection ceremony on October 8, literary and artistic workers from Jilin Province participated in cultural exchange performances with the group, conveying Jilin’s ice and snow culture to the world in the form of singing and dancing. After the performance, Wang Qingfeng, recommendation officer of Changchun Cultural Tourism and young actor of Jilin Opera Theater, said with emotion: "This is not only a performance, but also a cross-cultural dialogue. Ice and snow are our common language."

In addition to fire collection, Changchun also brings many expressions of youth. At the Turin landmark, actors presented a cultural flash mob that combined Chinese style, ice, snow and Changchun elements; on campus, young people from many places gathered on the same stage to have fun and interact.

Renault Eide said that fire collection is a ritual and a kind of inheritance. "Turin is the place where the dream of the Universiade began, and left a valuable development legacy for the city, playing a key role in promoting the popularization of ice and snow sports. We hope that this spirit can be passed down from generation to generation, inspiring more young people to pursue their dreams in the ice and snow arena, and allowing the concept of sustainable development to take root around the world."

Cristina Prandi, president of the University of Turin, where the ceremony was held, said: "The torch of the Changchun Winter Games was lit at the University of Turin, further deepening the friendship between Turin and Changchun. We look forward to taking this as an opportunity to carry out extensive and in-depth cooperation in various fields with more universities in China in the future."

From Turin to Changchun, the ignition of the Great Winter Games carries the love of ice and snow sports among the world’s youth, and also witnesses the development footprint of China’s ice and snow sports from “expansion of ice and snow in the north” to “driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports”.

More than three months later, when this fire ignites under the Changchun night sky, it will illuminate the path of thousands of college athletes to pursue their dreams.

Preparations for the event are progressing in an orderly manner

On October 7, the countdown to the Changchun Winter Games is 100 days. At the Changchun National Fitness Center, Wu Jian, a power maintenance personnel from the State Grid Changchun Power Supply Company, and his colleagues were busy inspecting the renovated distribution boxes, cables and high and low voltage distribution rooms one by one.

Preparatory work for the Changchun Winter Games is progressing in an orderly manner. Nine individual competition committees from the Changchun main competition area and six individual competition committees from the Jilin sub-division have been stationed to perform their duties, and the security, medical, transportation, meteorological, reception and other support systems are operating in a closed loop; more than 8,000 young volunteers from universities in Changchun and Jilin are carrying out systematic training and full-process drills in layers.

Walking into the Changchun Fifth Ring Stadium, this old venue built in 1998 has been put on "new clothes". During the Changchun Winter Games, it will be responsible for the opening ceremony and the short track speed skating and figure skating competitions. In the venue, the auditorium seats have been given a new look, and the layout of various functional areas is coordinated and orderly. The preliminary work of laying the ice rink refrigeration pipeline has been completed, and the construction workers are carrying out the project finishing work in an orderly manner.

Rong Bin, the person in charge of the venue construction and urban security department of the Changchun Winter Games Executive Committee, said that all competition and training venues for this year's Winter Games will be upgraded based on existing venues, achieving "light intervention and micro-renovation", and accurately improving the event functions while retaining the original architectural style and main structure.

At present, the 10 competition venues of the Changchun Winter Games have been fully completed. The joint debugging and testing of various equipment is planned to be completed around October 10, and will then be handed over to each individual competition committee to carry out follow-up preparations such as test competitions.

The games held in the twin cities are exciting

As an area that started ice and snow sports earlier in the country, Jilin Province is rich in ice and snow resources and has excellent conditions to host international ice and snow events.

The 2007 Asian Winter Games was the first time that Changchun City and Jilin City jointly hosted an international comprehensive ice and snow event. Since then, in the 12th National Winter Games, the two places have once again collaborated to accumulate experience in hosting cross-city games. For this Winter Games, Changchun and Jilin have turned preparations for the event into a practical carrier for promoting Changchun-Jilin urban integration. The transportation network continues to be optimized, metropolitan areas are gradually built, and cultural and tourism resources are integrated... The two places work together to host the competition, ushering in new opportunities for coordinated development.

In September this year, a meeting of heads of delegations to the Changchun Winter Games was held. Representatives from delegations from all over the world visited Changchun and Jilin to inspect the competition venues, supporting facilities and service guarantees. “Everything here is surprising and amazing.” Adam Stigborn, head of the Swedish delegation, was deeply impressed by the speed of preparations for the event.

The preparation work was also highly recognized by Renault Eide. "The organizing committee has delivered an amazing answer. Whether it is the overall planning of the event, the renovation of venue facilities, or the global media promotion, it is very impressive." Renault Eide said that he believes that this event will be a high-level ice and snow sports event and will also become a window for exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations.

Gu Gang said that he will do his best to prepare for various events and strive to hold a simple, safe and exciting ice and snow event.

The twin cities of Changchun and Jilin join hands to send an invitation to college athletes from all over the world: meet in the white mountains and pine waters for a date in the ice and snow!