KOD World Street Dancing Championship returns to Beijing in July

The 2025 KOD World Street Dance Championship is making an anticipated return to Beijing next month. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With some jaw-dropping moves to electrifying beats guaranteed, the KOD World Street Dancing Championship is primed to thrill fans with a showpiece of athletic wonders and pop culture on its return to the Chinese capital.

The 2025 edition of KOD (Keep On Dancing) is scheduled to take place from July 17-20 at the Diamond Court of Beijing's National Tennis Center, marking a highly anticipated return to the same venue since its successful debut at the iconic arena last year.

Founded in 2004, KOD has grown into one of the most prestigious street dancing tournaments in the world, alongside Britain's UK BBOY, France's Juste Debout, and Germany's Battle of the Year.

This year's competition will feature four core street-dancing styles — popping, hip-hop, waacking and locking — to go with an additional discipline choreography. The "KOD Cup", an international event featuring national teams, is also making an eye-catching comeback after a six-year hiatus.

Jing Enji, president of Beijing Media Corporation Ltd, organizing company of the event, expects the tournament's return to further boost the sports and culture sector in the city.

"This marks not only an ambitious step in introducing high-quality sports and cultural IPs, but also a proactive effort to leverage our group's platform to expand the marketing of cultural and sports businesses," he said at the launch on Tuesday.

"With professional insight and a commercial mindset infused into the event's brand development, promotion and sponsorship strategies, the 2025 KOD Championship has undergone a comprehensive brand upgrade and will achieve significant commercial expansion to position itself as a globally influential youth cultural icon."

The 2025 Grand Finals will feature a panel of over 40 internationally acclaimed judges, underscoring its world-class standards. The return of the "KOD Cup" with a tournament format will bring more international showdowns, thrilling street dance fans worldwide. With the finals hosted at the Diamond Court, both audience immersion and dancer experience have been significantly enhanced.

Registration for the event is now in full swing worldwide. International qualifying events have already been completed in cities such as Seoul, New York and Toronto. Meanwhile, domestic qualifiers are being held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Changchun, Xi'an and Quanzhou, Fujian province.

In addition, the championship has partnered with leading brands including Adidas and LKK, as well as major new media platforms such as Douyin (TikTok China), Xiaohongshu and Weibo to promote the global reach of street dance culture. A collaboration with Maoyan has also been announced, with ticket sales for the Grand Finals officially launched on June 6.