The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".

The Universiade is referred to in English as the World University Games or World Student Games. However, this latter term can also refer to competitions for sub-University grade students. In July 2020 as part of a new branding system by the FISU, it was stated that the Universiade was to be officially branded as the FISU World University Games.

The most recent summer event was the 2025 Summer World University Games held in Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany held from 16-27 July 2025, while the most recent winter event was the 2025 Winter World University Games held in Turin, Italy from 13 to 23 January 2025.

Precursors

The idea of a global international sports competition between student-athletes pre-dates the 1949 formation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which now hosts the Universiade, and even the first World University Games held in 1923. English peace campaigner Hodgson Pratt was an early advocate of such an event, proposing (and passing) a motion at the 1891 Universal Peace Congress in Rome to create a series of international student conferences in rotating host capital cities, with activities including art and sport. This did not come to pass, but a similar event was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event.Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of International Games. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. .

At the start of the 20th century, Jean Petitjean of France began attempting to organise a "University Olympic Games". After discussion with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Petitjean was convinced not to use the word "Olympic" in the tournament's name. Petitjean, and later the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants (CIE), was the first to build a series of international events, beginning with the 1923 International Universities Championships. This was followed by the renamed 1924 Summer Student World Championships a year later and two further editions were held in 1927 and 1928. Another name change resulted in the 1930 International University Games. The CIE's International University Games was held four more times in the 1930s before having its final edition in 1947.World Student Games (pre-Universiade). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-12-10.FISU History . FISU. Retrieved on 2014-12-09.

A separate group organised an alternative university games in 1939 in Vienna, in post-Anschluss Germany. The onset of World War II ceased all major international student sport activities and the aftermath also led to division among the movement, as the CIE was disbanded and rival organisations emerged. The Union Internationale des Étudiants (UIE) incorporated a university sports games into the World Festival of Youth and Students from 1947 to 1962, including one separate, unofficial games in 1954. This event principally catered for Eastern European countries.World Student Games (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-12-09.

After the closure of the CIE and the creation of the first UIE-organised games, FISU came into being in 1949 and held its own first major student sport event the same year in the form of the 1949 Summer International University Sports Week. The Sports Week was held biennially until 1955. Like the CIE's games before it, the FISU events were initially Western-led sports competitions.

Division between the largely Western European FISU and Eastern European UIE eventually began to dissipate among broadened participation at the 1957 World University Games. This event was not directly organised by either group, instead being organised by Jean Petitjean in France (which remained neutral to the split), but all respective nations from the groups took part. The FISU-organised Universiade became the direct successor to this competition, maintaining the biennial format into the inaugural 1959 Universiade. It was not until the 1957 World University Games that the Soviet Union began to compete in FISU events. That same year, what had previously been a European competition became a truly global one, with the inclusion of Brazil, Japan and the United States among the competing nations. The increased participation ultimately led to the establishment of the Universiade as the primary global student sport championship.

Precursor events Not recognized by FISU as Universiade or World University Games:

+ Precursor events#YearEventBodyHost cityHost country1 1923 International Universities Championships CIE Paris 2 1924 Summer Student World Championships CIE Warsaw 3 1927 Summer Student World Championships CIE Rome 4 1928 Summer Student World Championships CIE Paris 5 1930 International University Games CIE Darmstadt 6 1933 International University Games CIE Turin 7 1935 International University Games CIE Budapest 8 1937 International University Games CIE Paris 9 1939 International University Games CIE Monte Carlo 10 1939 International University Games NSDStB Vienna 11 1947 International University Games CIE Paris 12 1947 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Prague 13 1949 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Budapest 14 1949 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Merano 15 1951 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE East Berlin 16 1951 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Luxembourg 17 1953 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Bucharest 18 1953 Summer International University Sports Week FISU Dortmund 19 1955 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Warsaw 20 1955 Summer International University Sports Week FISU San Sebastián 21 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Moscow 22 1957 World University Games PUC Paris 23 1959 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Vienna 24 1962 World Festival of Youth and Students UIE Helsinki

Editions Summer Games

+Overview of Summer World University GamesEditionYearHostGames dates /Opened bySportsCompetitorsEventsNationsTop nation Total Men Women1959 Turin26 August – 6 September 1959President Giovanni Gronchi798586512060451961 Sofia26 August – 3 September 1961Chairman Dimitar Ganev91,27089937168321963 Porto Alegre30 August – 8 September 1963Minister Paulo de Tarso Santos971356514879271965 Budapest20–30 August 1965Chairman István Dobi91,7291,29043973321967 Tokyo27 August – 4 September 1967Emperor Hirohito1093869824087361970 Turin26 August – 6 September 1970President Giuseppe Saragat92,0841,54254281581973 Moscow16–26 August 1973Chairman Leonid Brezhnev 102,2771634643111701975 Rome 18–21 August 1975President Giovanni Leone146833613235381977 Sofia17–28 August 1977President Todor Zhivkov102,9392,181758101781979 Mexico City2–13 September 1979President José López Portillo 102,9742,26271297941981 Bucharest19–30 July 1981President Nicolae Ceaușescu102,9122,071841124861983 Edmonton1–12 July 1983Charles, Prince of Wales102,3821,6517,31117731985 Kobe24 August – 4 September 1985Crown Prince Akihito 112,7832,0087751201061987 Zagreb8–19 July 1987President Lazar Mojsov123,9052,6861,2191401211989 Duisburg 22–30 August 1989Chancellor Helmut Kohl41,7851,27151466791991 Sheffield14–25 July 1991Anne, Princess Royal123,3462,1341,2121251011993 Buffalo8–18 July 1993Primo Nebiolo123,5472,3851,1621381171995 Fukuoka23 August – 3 September 1995Crown Prince Naruhito133,9492,6361,3131451621997 Sicily20–31 August 1997President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro 113,4962,2641,2321271241999 Palma de Mallorca3–13 July 1999Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo124,0762,6351,4411461252001 Beijing22 August – 1 September 2001President Jiang Zemin133,8542,7051,7791681652003 Daegu21–31 August 2003President Roh Moo-hyun144,4602,6221,8381851742005 İzmir11–21 August 2005President Ahmet Necdet Sezer155,3463,1872,1591961312007 Bangkok20–31 August 2007Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn186,0933,3892,7042361522009 Belgrade1–12 July 2009Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković155,5663,2032,3632031222011 Shenzhen12–23 August 2011President Hu Jintao247,1554,0883,0673041512013 Kazan6–17 July 2013President Vladimir Putin277,9664,8273,1393511592015 Gwangju3–14 July 2015President Park Geun-hye217,4324,2703,1622721402017 Taipei19–30 August 2017President Tsai Ing-wen 217,3774,1893,1882711342019 Naples 3–14 July 2019President Sergio Mattarella185,8933,1002,7932201112021 Chengdu28 July – 8 August 2023President Xi Jinping186,5733,5563,0172691162023Originally awarded to Yekaterinburg. Cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine2025 Rhine-Ruhr16–27 July 2025Minister Bärbel Bas186,2333,2602,973234113 2027 Chungcheong1-12 August 2027TBA182482029 North Carolina11-22 July 2029TBA18

Winter Games

+Overview of Winter World University Games eventsEditionYearHostGames dates /Opened bySportsCompetitorsEventsNationsTop nation Total Men Women11960 Chamonix28 February – 6 March 1960President Charles de Gaulle515110645121521962 Villars6–12 March 1962President Paul Chaudet627321261142231964 Špindlerův Mlýn11–17 February 1964President Antonín Novotný528520679172141966 Sestriere5–13 February 1966President Giuseppe Saragat643435579192951968 Innsbruck21–28 January 1968President Franz Jonas742435173232661970 Rovaniemi3–9 April 1970President Urho Kekkonen742132695252571972 Lake Placid26 February – 5 March 1972President Richard Nixon735127972282281975 Livigno6–13 April 1975President Giovanni Leone21439548141591978 Špindlerův Mlýn5–12 February 1978President Gustáv Husák4260179811521101981 Jaca25 February – 4 March 1981King Juan Carlos I53942871071928111983 Sofia17–27 February 1983Chairman Todor Zhivkov75354091262431121985 Belluno16–24 February 1985President Sandro Pertini75383811572729131987 Štrbské Pleso21–28 February 1987President Gustáv Husák65964421542228141989 Sofia2–12 March 1989Chairman Todor Zhivkov86814672144032151991 Sapporo2–10 March 1991Crown Prince Naruhito86684612074534161993 Zakopane6–14 February 1993President Lech Wałęsa86684542144141171995 Jaca13–26 February 1995King Juan Carlos I87655422233641181997 Muju–Chonju24 January – 2 February 1997President Kim Young-sam98776092685348191999 Poprad-Tatry22–30 January 1999President Rudolf Schuster99296442855340202001 Zakopane7–17 February 2001President Aleksander Kwaśniewski91,0077013065241212003 Tarvisio16–26 January 2003President Renzo Tondo101,2668564105746222005 Innsbruck–Seefeld12–22 January 2005President Heinz Fischer121,4499574927150232007 Turin17–27 January 2007FISU President George Killian111,6389646747148242009 Harbin18–28 February 2009State councillor Liu Yandong121,5458646818144252011 Erzurum27 January – 6 February 2011President Abdullah Gül111,5939206736452262013 Trentino11–21 December 2013President Ugo Rossi121,6981,0356637850272015 Štrbské Pleso–Osrblie24 January – 1 February 2015President Andrej Kiska111,5469386086842 Granada4–14 February 2015King Felipe VI282017 Almaty29 January – 8 February 2017President Nursultan Nazarbayev121,6209846368557292019 Krasnoyarsk2–12 March 2019 President Vladimir Putin111,6929677257658302021Originally awarded to Lucerne. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic312023 Lake Placid12–22 January 2023Governor Kathy Hochul121,4178245938546322025 Turin13–23 January 2025 Minister Andrea Abodi111,5038977059054332027 Changchun15–25 January 2027TBA13108

Sports

Summer Games