The Vice President of the Bulgarian Wushu Federation shares details about the 5th World Taijiquan Championships, set to take place in Burgas from 23 to 30 April 2026.

The number of participating delegations for the 5th World Taijiquan Championships in Burgas has now been finalised, setting an absolute record for this type of competition. That is according to Petar Dragoev of the Bulgarian Wushu Federation, who is coordinating the event with the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) and the Chinese organising side.

"At the moment we have 43 countries confirmed, and one more - Nigeria - is being added which will mark above 400 participants," Dragoev said.

According to him, the figures are unprecedented:

"This is absolutely a record for this type of competition."

For comparison, the previous edition held in Singapore in 2024 drew around 320 participants from 32 countries. Even IWUF representatives on the Chinese side have commented to the Bulgarian organisers that Burgas 2026 is shaping up to be the largest edition of the championship in its history.

Bulgaria as a leading host in the global wushu scene

Dragoev emphasised that Burgas hosting the event is not an isolated case, but part of a firmly established reputation that the Bulgarian federation has built within the international wushu community.

"On a global scale, there is nothing like this. Asia is a slightly more closed circle, where events are often organised internally. But across the other five continents, Bulgaria has become a kind of leader in organising wushu competitions," he explained.

The Bulgarian federation previously hosted the Youth World Championships in 2016, the 3rd World Taijiquan Championships in 2018, and now the 5th edition in 2026

"That will make three World Championships in total hosted by Bulgaria, which is quite an achievement," Dragoev noted.

The 2016 Youth World Championships remains particularly significant for the country's organisational credentials, having brought together more than 1,200 participants - the first edition of the format ever held outside Asia.

"We received the highest possible evaluation for the organisation from IWUF. I mention this as an interesting fact about what Bulgaria is capable of today," he added.

Format of the Burgas championships

Competition at Sports Hall "Mladost" will take place on two competition areas, with a separate warm-up hall. The event will feature classical styles of taijiquan divided into two main categories - Championship Events, with official standings from first to third place, and Demonstration Events, where medals are distributed on a percentage basis: the top 10% receive gold, followed by silver and bronze tiers.

"The official ranking comes only from the Championship Events," Dragoev clarified.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for the evening of 25 April, with competition days running from 26 April. The detailed day-by-day programme is still being finalised in coordination with IWUF and will be officially announced in the coming days.

Full coverage from euwushu.tv

The euwushu.tv team will provide complete coverage of the championships - video content, interviews, social media reporting and online streaming. Further details on the programme, age categories and participating delegations will be published in the coming days.