ITU to launch World Championship Festival

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) opened bidding Friday for the 2017 ITU Multisport World Championship Festival. The inaugural championship event will see Duathlon, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Long Distance Triathlon World Championship races contested over a ten-day celebration starting in 2017.

“Combining all of these World Championship events into one festival will serve to further strengthen and evolve them, and will be very attractive to cities wishing to attract thousands of active visitors to its city,” ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado said. “The post-Olympic year is an ideal time to launch the festival, as triathlon and paratriathlon will again generate a massive interest in the multisport lifestyle.”

By offering four championship races in one region, it also provides the opportunity for athletes to compete in several multisport championship races during one compact trip.

With both elite and mass participation races included in the festival, it is expected to attract upwards of 2500 age group athletes, in addition to their families and support teams. A city could potentially benefit from 45,000 visitor nights with the average visitor expected to stay a minimum of 5.6 nights, with the races set to be contested over two weekends.

The winning cities will be announced on May 15, 2015.

from press release.