Vying for the top blockbuster events, major cities in northern China have stepped into the fray.
According to Tianjin Radio, the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Economic Development of Automobile Events in Tianjin" (Draft for Comments) was recently released for public feedback. The draft proposes that by the end of 2027, Tianjin will strive to build an internationally renowned northern automobile event cluster with complete facilities, concentrated events, diverse business formats and sufficient talents.
It is mentioned that top-tier international and domestic professional events will be introduced. Relying on the advantages of the FIA Grade 2 international racetrack at Wuqing V1 Auto World, Tianjin will deepen cooperation with professional institutions such as Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of China (CAMF), and actively apply for hosting high-standard traditional fuel vehicle events including China Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Congress, China-Italy International Open-air Auto Show, China Supercar Championship, and CDC China Drift Championship.
Focusing on the layout of new energy vehicle events, Tianjin will targetedly introduce green racing events such as the FIA Formula E World Championship and new energy circuit sprint races, build a full-category automobile event system, and develop a high-end automobile event cluster highland in northern China. The city will support the upgrading and renovation of the infrastructure of the V1 Auto World racetrack, and actively explore the possibility of hosting top-tier high-standard events such as F1.
Meanwhile, high-level events including F4 Chinese Championship, China Circuit Sprint Challenge, International Drift Series, China Endurance Championship, and International Motorcycle Invitational will be held on a regular basis, to promote the events to be upgraded into urban brand IPs.
The event economy has become a key lever for local governments to boost consumption. In September this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the *Opinions on Developing Sports Events to Stimulate Consumption Vitality*, proposing to support the hosting of high-level professional events covering tennis, sailing, boxing, billiards, automobile, motorcycle, cycling and other categories. It also supports international consumption center cities and pilot cities for promoting sports consumption and event economy to host major international events.
F1 is one of the most commercialized sports IPs in the world. Since it settled in Shanghai in 2004, the F1 Chinese Grand Prix has become a key carrier for Shanghai to drive the incremental growth of the event economy. According to the data from the *2025 Shanghai Sports Event Influence Assessment Report*, the 2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix brought a direct economic impact of 2.47 billion yuan and an indirect economic impact of 6.91 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of over 75% for both indicators.
Tianjin also aims to capture this wave of traffic. As one of the first batch of cultivated international consumption center cities, Tianjin received 448,000 inbound tourists in 2025, up 21.2% year on year; the international tourism revenue reached 670 million US dollars, up 34.1% year on year. In contrast, in Shanghai, on March 13 this year, the opening day of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, the number of foreign nationals entering the country via Shanghai ports exceeded 27,000, which fully demonstrates the strong appeal of top-tier IPs.
Tianjin has been explicitly named and supported to boost consumption driven by automobile events. As early as June this year, the General Offices of 8 departments including the Ministry of Commerce announced the list of pilot cities for automobile circulation and consumption reform. Tianjin was successfully selected, and will focus on the three key reform and innovation directions of "automobile modification, classic vintage cars, and automobile events" to promote the construction of the pilot city for automobile circulation and consumption reform.
In terms of hardware, Tianjin has basic conditions that most other cities do not possess. In 2018, V1 Auto World was completed in Wuqing. There are only more than 10 FIA-certified Grade 2 racetracks across China, and the only one in northern China is built in V1 Auto World. In May this year, the F4 Chinese Championship made its debut at Tianjin V1 Auto World, which is regarded as "F4 returning to northern China after an interval of more than 10 years".
The draft for comments mentions that relying on the advantages of the FIA Grade 2 international racetrack at Wuqing V1 Auto World, Tianjin will actively apply for hosting a number of high-standard traditional fuel vehicle events. However, to host F1 events, the racetrack must pass the FIA Grade 1 track certification. Tianjin also stated this time that it will "support the upgrading and renovation of the infrastructure of the V1 Auto World racetrack, and actively explore the possibility of hosting top-tier high-standard events such as F1."
Across the country, many local regions intend to share the benefits of this market. The latest one is Hainan. In April this year, Hainan International Cultural Exchange Center signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dingji Auto Culture (Hainan) Co., Ltd., to carry out all-round cooperation in core areas including the introduction and landing of F1 racing events, planning and construction of professional racetracks, commercial event operation, construction of auto culture industrial complex, and in-depth integrated development of culture, sports and tourism.
It should be noted that hosting an F1 event requires not only compliant hardware facilities, but also joint review by FIA and F1, as well as the payment of event licensing fees and bidding fees. Previously, the Shenyang Municipal Bureau of Sports disclosed in its reply to the suggestions of local people's congress deputies that the hosting fee (copyright fee) of F1 events ranges from 350 million yuan to 400 million yuan, the expenses for operation, security, medical care, broadcasting and venue setup range from 250 million yuan to 350 million yuan, and the racetrack maintenance and management expenses range from 50 million yuan to 100 million yuan, with a total cost of 600 million yuan to 800 million yuan RMB.
While the direct revenue of the event (taking the 2026 Shanghai Grand Prix as an example) from tickets, sponsorship and advertising is about 350 million yuan. Based on this, the Shenyang Municipal Bureau of Sports stated directly that Shenyang currently has no capacity to build a permanent F1 international standard racetrack or a temporary urban racetrack, nor can it afford to host such an event.
In other words, bidding for the right to host F1 events is essentially a contest of comprehensive strength. Whether the event can bring more investment to the local area off the track, whether the city has sufficient carrying capacity represented by hotels and transportation, and whether there is long-term economic support are also decisive considerations.
This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution Theory", written by Yang Huan, and authorized for release by 36Kr.