The Shanghai Administration of Sports has issued guidelines to enhance the spillover effects of sporting events, encouraging organizers to attract more customers to nearby businesses and boost consumption via sports activities.

Q: Which events are eligible for incentives?

Professional leagues, other sporting events, and sports-themed activities held in Shanghai, excluding regular fitness activities, meet the basic scale requirement for incentives if they satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

• at least 5,000 offline competitors or participants
• ticketed attendance of at least 10,000
• at least 20,000 online competitors or participants

Note: A professional league held over a single season is treated as one event.

Q: What are the incentives?

The policy combines basic and additional incentives:

Organizers of events that meet the basic eligibility requirements may apply for incentives in the following four categories.

Events that boost consumption. If an offline event cooperates with a business and generates at least 5 million yuan in sales or operating revenue for that business during the cooperation period, with year-on-year growth of at least 10 percent, the organizer may receive up to 1 million yuan for each qualifying business. If an online event generates at least 30 million yuan in online sales or operating revenue through a platform, the organizer may receive up to 2 million yuan.

Events that attract overseas visitors. An event may receive up to 1 million yuan if competitors, participants, or ticketed spectators holding valid overseas identification documents account for at least 10 percent of the relevant total.

Events that expand in scale. An event may receive up to 500,000 yuan if its offline participation or ticketed attendance increases from the previous edition and meets the applicable growth threshold.

Events held during the off-season. Offline events held in January or February may receive up to 500,000 yuan. For events spanning multiple months, at least 50 percent of the event days must fall in January or February.

Qualifying events may receive multiple basic incentives simultaneously. Additional incentives may be received only if an event meets the scale requirements and qualifies for at least one basic incentive.

More people mean more rewards:

Offline participation of at least 10,000 but fewer than 20,000, or ticketed attendance of at least 20,000 but fewer than 50,000: an additional 30 percent of the qualifying basic incentives.

Offline participation of at least 20,000, or ticketed attendance of at least 50,000: an additional 50 percent of the qualifying basic incentives.

Events may also receive additional incentives based on their brand status:

Well-known brand events introduced to Shanghai in the year of application, with event introduction costs of at least 10 million yuan per year or edition, or events certified as "Shanghai Sports" brand events: an additional 50 percent of the qualifying basic incentives.

Previously introduced well-known brand events meeting the same cost threshold, or independently developed branded events that have been successfully held at least three times, including the current edition: an additional 30 percent of the qualifying basic incentives.

Note: The incentive for a single event is capped at 3 million yuan, while the total received by a single applicant in one year is capped at 10 million yuan.

Q: How can organizers apply?

To maximize the impact of the policy, applications remain open through the Suishendui - Precision Service for Enterprise Policies window on the Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform. Applicants must be legally registered and lawfully operating entities with sound financial accounting and management systems, proper financial management, good credit and financial standing, and no adverse records or legal or regulatory violations. They must be the event organizer, the entity actually responsible for staging the event, or an implementing entity designated by the organizing committee. Only one eligible entity may apply for each event. Applications may be submitted after the event has been completed. Applications are reviewed quarterly, and approved incentives are disbursed as soon as possible to help businesses improve their cash flow. Rolling applications and the continued organization of sporting events are encouraged.

For events whose complete data can be obtained through government data sharing or statistical monitoring, eligible scale-growth, off-season, and related additional incentives may be granted without an application.

The policy is effective from Jan 1, 2026, through Dec 31, 2027, and may be further refined based on its implementation. Events that have already received other municipal fiscal support or upfront district-level fiscal support, or that are subject to intellectual property disputes, are not eligible. Applicants penalized by law enforcement authorities for major legal or regulatory violations within the past three years are also ineligible.

Note: The English version is for reference only; the official Chinese document shall prevail.

Source: Shanghai Administration of Sports