The best table tennis players across the globe will today in Dusseldorf, Germany begin quest for honours at the biggest tournament in 2017.
613 players from 108 countries will compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles for eight-days for the coveted titles held by China.
Also, there will be 66 tables used across the two competition halls and training venuewith 7,000 specially branded balls supplied by Nittaku exclusively for the World Championships. The athletes will have a great deal of court to cover, with 7,000 square metres of Gerflor flooring being used. And they will be kept in line by 150 umpires.
Approximately 50,000 spectators are expected to fill the two competition halls during the tournament. Coincidentally, they will be sitting in grandstand constructed out of just over 50,000 individual parts.
The 45 chefs will have a lot of hungry mouths to feed. They will be cooking up 50 tons of food. 38,000 litres of drinks will make sure nobody goes thirsty. The local area of Düsseldorf will benefit from the massive influx of people coming in to the city, with the hotels getting a boost of 15,000 overnight stays. There is going to be many people to thank for keeping the event running, with 350 volunteers donating their time to make sure the tournament goes off without a hitch, while the cost of putting the tournament is 7million euro.
Also, the tournament will reach over 120 nations in the world and is set to establish new viewership records. The most comprehensive coverage ever known is on the agenda.
New technologies and innovations such as aerial cam, ball-tracking technology and the Liebherr Live Show mean that table tennis enthusiasts all over the globe will be brought closer to the action.
New broadcasters include North American giants ESPN and CBC plus Latin America’s Globo and Claro Sports; thus ensuring the World Championships are being seen extensively in these two markets. Both are big growth areas for table tennis.
Additional to television broadcasts and Over-The-Top (OTT) mobile platforms with media rights partners, the ITTF will also be streaming eight tables of action on its online streaming platform tv.ittf.com for all eight days of the competition.