China’s top eSports event, the ESCC West Coast International E-sports Tournament, kicked off in Qingdao, eastern China’s Shandong Province, on Saturday, as part of the 28th International beer festival.

The five-day event will features Chinese web celebrities, with performers from Japan and South Korea in e-sports, electronic music, street dancing, Spica, anime, cosplay and holographic technology.  

Eight teams from China, France, Germany, UK, South Africa, Pakistan, Yemen and UAE joined  Chinese world champions in gymnastics, table tennis, short track speed skating and foot racing at the ceremony.

A total of 40 players, after surviving competitions in 16 countries and regions, will engage in the final face-off on popular MOBA games League of Legends and Arena of Valor in the most prestigious E-sports event in Qingdao.

Since China approved electronic sports as the 99th official sporting event in 2003, the gaming industry has flourished in a booming market worth $32.5 billion. “E-sports is ushering in a promising era of growth. With the dual tailwinds of beneficial policies and a positive environment, China plans to build powerful e-sports brands and host more prestigious international events to promote quality economic development”, said Zhang Faqiang, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, at the ceremony.

A digital carnival was also organized. Combining gaming and pan-entertainment such as entertainment and tourism as the entry point, four major events were held:  a hologram concert, a Spica dance competition, a cosplay tour and a two-dimension interactive.

China Overseas Holding Group, organizer of the event, is a large state-owned enterprise approved by the State Council and the Central Military Commission. The group nurtured the development of the e-sports industry, and the festival positions Qingdao as a leisure sports center and an e-sports culture hub.