Daily Blog Day 10: Final fever at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games

There were several sporting highlights to watch in Duisburg on Friday. Not only did the rowing competition begin, with athletes competing for medals, but the women's German water polo team won their semi-final and will now face the USA in the final for the gold medal. The German men's beach volleyball team also impressed in their semi-final. With their victory over Italy, they prevailed and are now also in the gold medal match. Both matches will take place on Saturday.

At the Dreieckswiese, DJ JC Zeller got visitors in the mood for the upcoming competitions or provided a relaxing end to a beautiful evening for some. The evening was also enjoyed in the Grugapark. But it wasn't just athletes who were present—some well-known personalities were also on site. Hendrik Wüst visited the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games frequently and watched the sporting competitions at the various venues.

Listen for yourself what he experienced during his visits and how he felt about it.

What a summer. What an experience. What a statement.

North Rhine-Westphalia is showing these days what our region is capable of. With the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, the world’s largest multi-sport event of the year is taking place here until Sunday. And we are celebrating a festival: a festival of encounters, of emotions, of world-class moments.

It was more than sport. It was a feeling.

Thousands of athletes from all over the world. Cheering fans. Goosebumps are in the air everywhere. From the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum to the Landschaftspark in Duisburg, the Grugapark

But it wasn’t just athletes who attracted attention—some well-known figures were also on site. Hendrik Wüst visited the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games frequently and watched the sporting competitions in the various venues.

Hear for yourself what he experienced during his visits and how he felt about it.

What a summer. What an experience. What a statement.

North Rhine-Westphalia is showing these days what our state is capable of. With the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, the world’s largest multi-sport event of the year is taking place here until Sunday. And we are celebrating a festival: a festival of encounters, of emotions, of world-class moments.

It was more than sport. It was a feeling.

Thousands of athletes from all over the world. Enthusiastic fans. There’s a sense of goosebumps in the air everywhere. From the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum to the Landschaftspark in Duisburg, the Grugapark and the Messe Essen, to the many sports venues along the Rhine and Ruhr – everywhere you can feel this special energy these days. The magic of sport, live and within reach.

North Rhine-Westphalia is the host of the largest multi-sport event after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. And it does so with experience, with heart, and with enthusiasm that is contagious. Rhine-Ruhr 2025 is a promise: this is where sport lives.

We are experiencing what is possible when people come together – with passion, experience, and the will to inspire. Whether it’s 3×3 basketball, gymnastics or on the festival grounds: North Rhine-Westphalia cheers, celebrates, laughs, and shows sport in its most beautiful form. Whoever was here has seen, felt, and loved sport.

It was great to see who I met on site: Olympic stars like Kim Bui and Fabian Hambüchen – not as guests of honor, but as mentors passing on their experience or as moderators at the competitions. For many young athletes, a moment to remember.

A particularly strong statement was the firm integration of para-sport: for the very first time, 3×3 wheelchair basketball was part of the FISU World University Games Summer. And with so much interest that the competition field was expanded. That’s a statement: Inclusion is a fixed part of sport here in North Rhine-Westphalia.

And NRW also delivered in terms of sporting performance. With 95 athletes, our state represents almost one third of the German team. This shows: the sports state of NRW is right in the middle of things – as host, on the field, and in the arena.

Rhine-Ruhr 2025 is a fantastic event and an offer – an offer to youth, to sport, to the world. An offer that shows: we are rethinking sport. We think of it as modern, inclusive, and approachable. And we have what it takes: infrastructure, experience, and conviction. Anyone who enters our sports venues and arenas today immediately senses: this is about more than victories. It’s about community. About passion. About stories that last.

And we are ready for more – ready to show more, to make more possible, to move more. The FISU World University Games are a strong message that North Rhine-Westphalia is excellently positioned. We can and want to be the host of the Olympic and Paralympic Games on the Rhine and Ruhr. We are looking forward to it.

Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, MdL

And now the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games are entering the final stretch. One more weekend with finals in beach volleyball, water polo, rowing, athletics, and artistic gymnastics.