FISE World Series (FWS) – a worldwide action sports series that attracts many of the top international elite athletes in BMX, skateboarding, mountain biking, inline skating and wakeboarding – has announced that Denver has been selected as the first U.S. city to ever be included on the tour, making it one of only five international cities to host the event. FWS also includes the first ever UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup. Short for Festival International des Sports Extrêmes, FISE launched in Palavas, France in 1997 and has since grown into an international phenomenon for extreme sports competitions throughout the world.
FISE World Denver – USA will take place over Labor Day weekend, September 3-5, 2016, and will feature the disciplines of skateboarding, BMX and flatland competitions, for both amateurs and professionals. Metropolitan State University of Denver and downtown Denver’s Sculpture Park will play host to the competition, which is expected to be broadcast in more than 50 countries and draw thousands of spectators.
“Denver is a vibrant, youthful, creative city and the perfect setting for FISE,” says Matthew Payne, executive director of Denver Sports, an affiliate of VISIT DENVER. “We are frequently recognized as one of the best sports cities in the United States due to our vast fan base of seven professional sports teams, including the recent football Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos, and we are thrilled to showcase the city’s enthusiasm for sports and urban adventure on an international level.”
VISIT DENVER and Denver Sports are working closely with FISE and Honor, FISE’s global signature sponsor, to finalize all locations for the competition and provide destination support for the international showcase event, which is expected to lure enthusiasts from across the globe.
The 2016 FWS will visit five countries on three different continents from May through October. In addition to Denver, other destinations include Montpellier, France; Osijek, Croatia; Edmonton, Canada; and Chengdu, China. The series will represent more than 2,000 amateur and professional athletes from 55 different countries over 20 days – including a number of local Denver athletes.