Burgas 2026 Sets Absolute Record: 400 Athletes from 44 Countries Make History at the World Taijiquan Championships

With 44 participating nations and 400 athletes confirmed, the 5th World Taijiquan Championships in Burgas have officially become the largest edition of the event in its history - and Bulgaria has once again broken its own organisational record.

The 5th World Taijiquan Championships, hosted by Burgas from 23 to 30 April 2026, have entered the record books before a single medal has been awarded. The final list of participants confirms 44 national federations and 400 athletes - the highest numbers ever registered for a World Taijiquan Championship since the event's inaugural edition in 2013.

A truly global field

The 44 participating nations span every continent and reflect the global reach of taijiquan as both a competitive discipline and a cultural practice. Participants represent: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Djibouti, France, Great Britain, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Morocco, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Macao, Japan, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Gabon, as well as Individual Athletes competing under the World Wushu Federation banner.

For comparison, the previous edition of the World Taijiquan Championships, held in Singapore in 2024, drew approximately 320 athletes from 32 countries. Burgas 2026 surpasses that figure by a significant margin, both in number of nations and in total participants - a clear sign of taijiquan's continued growth as a global sport.

Bulgaria breaks its own record - again

This is the second time Bulgaria has hosted the World Taijiquan Championships, following the 3rd edition held in 2018 - which itself set a record at the time, with around 290 participants. With 400 athletes now confirmed for Burgas 2026, Bulgaria has not only broken the all-time record for the championship, but has done so by raising the bar that it previously set itself.

The Bulgarian Wushu Federation has long-established credentials as a leading host of major IWUF events. In addition to the 2018 World Taijiquan Championships, Bulgaria hosted the Junior World Wushu Championships in 2016 - the first time that competition was held outside Asia, and an event that drew over 1,200 participants. The Burgas 2026 championships continue this tradition of large-scale, high-standard organisation that has become a hallmark of Bulgarian wushu.

Four days of competition - all streamed live

Following last night's Opening Ceremony at Sports Hall "Mladost", competition begins today, 26 April, and runs through 29 April. Four days, eight sessions, two fields of play, and all five classical styles of taijiquan - Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun, and Wu (Hao) - will be on display, alongside weapons events (taijijian and taijishan), New Standardized Routines, and the closing Jiti group routines.

Every session of every day will be streamed live and exclusively on euwushu.tv. From the first morning session at 8:30 to the closing Awards Ceremonies each evening, viewers around the world can follow every form, every routine, and every medal moment directly through our platform - free, accessible, and in full.

For exclusive video, behind-the-scenes content, athlete interviews, photo coverage and live updates throughout each competition day, follow euwushu.tv across all our social media channels.

44 nations. 400 athletes. One world title. History is being made in Burgas.