When the Olympic flame is lit or the FIFA World Cup kicks off, the entire planet seems to stop and watch. Streets fall silent, living rooms glow with television sets, and billions tune in. But tucked away in the same sporting calendar is another global festival that features thousands of athletes from over a hundred countries The World Games.
It is big, it is global, and for many athletes it is the pinnacle of their careers. And yet, outside of the communities that play these sports, most people barely notice when it happens.
Why does an event with such scale and ambition fly so far under the radar?
The World Games were first held in 1981 in Santa Clara, California. Organized by the International World Games Association (IWGA), the event takes place every four years and runs for around 11 days. Unlike the Olympics, it does not seek to showcase the mainstream. Instead, its mission is clear: give sports that don’t have a place in the Olympic program their own world stage.
So you won’t find athletics, swimming, or gymnastics here. Instead, you’ll see squash, tug of war, dance sport, korfball, finswimming, billiards, and martial arts ranging from kickboxing to aikido. For these sports and for their athletes The World Games are not a sideshow, they are the main stage. Roughly 3,500 to 5,000 athletes from about 100 nations take part. They qualify through their international federations, meaning the competition brings together the very best in each discipline. The IWGA also insists that host cities use existing or temporary venues. There are no billion-dollar stadiums or white-elephant projects, a conscious nod to sustainability and cost control.
It is, in many ways, a refreshing antidote to the excess of modern mega-events. But that same philosophy also explains why it struggles to be noticed.
Why the Spotlight Rarely Finds The World Games
Familiarity vs. Novelty : Sport thrives on recognition. Football has 3.5 billion fans worldwide, so the World Cup never has to explain itself. The Olympics have athletics, swimming, and gymnastics disciplines children grow up watching at school level and at national competitions. The World Games, by contrast, asks a casual viewer to invest in sports they may never have seen before. Understanding korfball or finswimming takes time. Tug of war may look simple, but its tactical depth is invisible to outsiders. Without familiarity, audiences hesitate.
The Weight of History : The Olympics date back to 1896 in their modern form. The World Cup has been running since 1930. Both are woven into family traditions events grandparents, parents, and children have experienced together for generations. The World Games only began in 1981. That makes it young by comparison, still building its identity and legacy. It does not yet carry the cultural weight of being “must-watch” television.
Star Power : Global sport runs on star narratives. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps turned Olympic events into prime-time drama. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo make the World Cup larger than life. The World Games has outstanding athletes, but many compete in amateur or semi-professional systems. They lack the global sponsorships, the celebrity profiles, and the visibility that make stars shine beyond their sports. For the general public, there is no instant recognition, no name that draws them in.
Media and Money : Numbers tell the story starkly. The Birmingham 2022 World Games reached about 268 million viewers across 61 territories. Not bad — until you set it against the 3 billion who watched the Tokyo Olympics or the 5 billion who engaged with the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Sponsorship figures underline the gap. TWG 2022 raised about $33 million in sponsorship revenue. By comparison, the IOC generated $12.1 billion in the last Olympic cycle, while FIFA expects $11 billion for 2023–26.
Money drives coverage. With modest budgets, The World Games cannot buy global prime-time slots, cannot flood social media with slick campaigns, and cannot turn its athletes into household names. It ends up talking mostly to the converted existing fans of its sports.
If The World Games struggle for visibility, they are not short of value. In fact, their existence fills a crucial gap in global sport.
- They are the peak for niche sports. For tug of war athletes or finswimmers, there is no bigger stage. Winning here is as meaningful as winning an Olympic medal in track and field.
- They act as a stepping stone. Karate, floorball, and other sports used TWG as a proving ground before making their case for the Olympics.
- They are sustainable. At a time when the Olympics and World Cup face criticism for overspending and waste, The World Games show another way using existing venues and focusing on athletes rather than infrastructure.
- They celebrate diversity. While mainstream events reinforce the dominance of global sports, TWG widens the lens, offering a richer picture of human athleticism.
In this sense, The World Games are less about competing with the Olympics and more about complementing them giving room to sports that might otherwise be lost. The World Games may never match the Olympics or World Cup for scale. But that doesn’t mean they can’t carve out a stronger place in the sporting calendar.
- Rebrand the narrative. Right now, the Games are often defined as “not the Olympics.” They need to flip the script and market themselves as “the home of the world’s other elite sports.”
- Invest in digital. For younger audiences, short clips, athlete profiles, and behind-the-scenes content matter more than long broadcasts. TWG should lean hard into streaming and social platforms.
- Tell athlete stories. Audiences connect to people more than sports. The IWGA should spotlight its champions, their sacrifices, and their personalities, creating heroes who can transcend their disciplines.
- Use sustainability as a selling point. In an era of climate consciousness, TWG can stand out as the green alternative to bloated mega-events.
- Grow from the grassroots. If more people play korfball, finswimming, or tug of war at community level, they’ll tune in to watch them at TWG. Local engagement in host cities can ripple outward.
The World Games are not small. They involve thousands of athletes, dozens of sports, and global participation. But in the noisy arena of world sport, visibility is about more than size. It is about history, recognition, star power, money, and cultural embeddedness. On those counts, The World Games lag behind the Olympics and the World Cup. Still, their value should not be underestimated.
They are a stage for sports that would otherwise be invisible, a proving ground for disciplines hoping to break into the Olympic program, and a model of sustainability in an era of excess. Their challenge is not to mimic the giants but to embrace their own identity. With sharper storytelling, stronger digital presence, and a clear narrative of being the global festival of “other elite sports,” The World Games can build their own legacy.
It may never be the Olympics. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be.
