Full Court Passion: Weibo’s Inaugural Basketball Festival Unites Hearts and Hoops
Weibo Basketball Night: A Celebration of Basketball Culture and Community
On September 19, the Xiamen Sports Bureau and Sina Weibo hosted the grand opening of the 2024 Weibo Basketball Night at the Xiamen Jiageng Gymnasium. This event marked the first annual basketball festival, recognizing and celebrating the achievements of the basketball community.
The event brought together guests from various fields, including basketball associations, event organizers, digital content platforms, and entertainment stars. The participation of these diverse cultural forces helped promote the cross-border integration and dissemination of basketball culture.
Xu Jicheng, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, Liu Yudong, President of the Fujian Basketball Association, and other notable figures attended the event. Weibo senior vice president of operations Cao Zenghui and Weibo vice president of products Zheng Wei were also present.
The event featured 15 awards in three categories: honor, creation, and communication. The winners included ordinary creators, professional athletes, hot events, and the entire league. Weibo Basketball Night aimed to discover the value of event IP, promote the growth of grassroots amateurs, and create a content ecology that benefits the entire basketball industry.
The event also featured a basketball carnival with interactive sessions, dance performances, and street ball competitions. Streetball celebrities such as Master Ma, Huang Yujun, and Cao Fang interacted with fans on site.
Entertainment stars such as Yao Chen, Xilinnayi Gao, Su Xing, and Zhang Qi made cross-border appearances, providing basketball fans with a diverse entertainment experience.
During the break, Liu Xingyu and winners Mina & Zeng Lingxu experienced Xiamen’s local cultural interaction – Bo Bing. Zhao Jiwei also exchanged gifts with his Weibo basketball-watching partner Su Xing.
Xu Jie, PMO of Migu Video Basketball, said: “We hope to make more young people like basketball and contribute to the development of Chinese basketball through the integration and innovation of ‘content + technology’.”
Wang Chao, deputy general manager of Guizhou Taijiang Sports and Tourism Integration Development Industry Group, said: “We sincerely welcome everyone to experience a village basketball game full of village flavor, pure basketball, ethnic culture, and intangible cultural heritage.”
Commentator @王猛 said: “Thank you Weibo for the important role it has played in our lives over the past fifteen years!”
Liu Yang, producer of Tencent NBA Studio, said: “In the future, Tencent and the NBA will continue to bring more Chinese faces to the stage of the Celebrity Game, and we also hope that more Chinese players will appear on the NBA stage in the future.”
Chen Xinyu, vice president of iQiyi, quoted Jordan: “Legendary star Jordan once said, ‘Playing basketball is an attitude towards life, an attitude of pursuing excellence!’ This (common) spirit is the best testimony to the charm of basketball!”
Chinese women’s basketball star Zheng Haixia said: “I am grateful to basketball for giving me the opportunity to lead the Chinese women’s basketball team to dominate the international arena.”
Zhang Chi, President of Digital Media Copyright and Operations of China Basketball Association (Beijing) Sports Co., Ltd., said: “CBA will continue to uphold the purpose of ‘serving fans, serving media, and serving sponsors’, practice the concept of ‘in the name of the city’, and provide visual enjoyment and emotional value for the fans.”
Li Jianwei, senior vice president of NBA China, said: “This year marks the 14th year of cooperation between NBA and Weibo. Today, the total number of fans of the league’s official account and team accounts is close to 200 million. Last season, we had more than 1,500 topics on Weibo’s hot search list. We have to thank the Weibo platform for giving us, who were once rookies on the court, ample opportunities to shoot. Through the tempering of blood and sweat, our ‘shooting’ has become more and more accurate.”
The first Weibo Basketball Night came to a successful conclusion with Zhang Qi singing “Flying Time”. On the Weibo platform, the #WeiboBasketballNight# topic alone has been viewed over 150 million times.
In the future, Weibo will continue to rely on its own platform advantages, combine more industry resources, and work with all parties to promote the prosperity and progress of the basketball industry.
Winners of the 2024 Weibo Basketball Night Awards
- Migu Video, Taijiang Village BA, Zhibo Bar, and the China University Basketball League won the “Weibo Basketball Annual National Promotion Star” award.
- @孟哆Danny3 and @雨说体育Xu Jingyu won the “Best Weibo Basketball Voice of the Year” award.
- The official Weibo accounts of @关辛, @SOLE_旅途, @Swagger水哥, @鞋吧Sneakersbar, and @詹姆斯吧 won the title of “Weibo Basketball Annual Outstanding Creator”.
- @球圈赵探长 and @王猛 won the most popular Weibo basketball influencer of the year award.
- Super grassroots players Ma Shifu and Huang Yujun won the title of “Most Popular Streetball Player of the Year in Weibo Basketball” award.
- Super Grassroots and Porcelain Factory won the “Most Popular Streetball Brand of the Year in Weibo Basketball” award.
- Wang Hedi’s “Di Yishi” All-Star Tour and “I Play Basketball in Hengdian” won the “Best Cross-border Communication Case of Weibo Basketball of the Year” award.
- Mina and Zeng Lingxu won the “Best Cross-border Figure of the Year in Weibo Basketball” award.
- Yao Chen and Xilinnayi Gao won the title of “Weibo Basketball Breakout Hot Figure of the Year”.
- Su Xing and Zhang Qi won the title of “Weibo Basketball Breakthrough Figure of the Year”.
- Streetball King, Irving became Anta’s CCO, the first International Basketball Expo, and Left-Handed Layup won the “Weibo Basketball Annual Creativity Event” award.
- The Chinese women’s basketball team at the 1992 Olympics won the “Weibo Basketball Annual Tribute Moment” award.
- The Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship and the Yao Foundation won the “Weibo Basketball Annual Outstanding Public Welfare Contribution” award.
- Liu Yutong, Zhang Ru and Zou Yang won the “Weibo Basketball Star Player of the Year” award.
- Liaoning Men’s Basketball Team won three consecutive CBA championships and Tsinghua Men’s Basketball Team won its fifth CUBA championship and won the “Weibo Basketball Annual Championship Achievement” award.
- Zhao Jiwei won the “Weibo Basketball Outstanding Player of the Year” award.
- NBA won the “Weibo Basketball Star of the Year” award.