For eight days, from May 29 to June 5, Düsseldorf will be dedicated to the little white ball. The LIEBHERR 2017 World Table Tennis Championships are a sport event with worldwide recognition. Its organization is logistically a mammoth project. In 1926 at the first WTTC there were only 74 players from nine nations. More than 90 years later, actually nearly everything has changed. About 700 players from 130 nations will participate in the LIEBHERR WTTC in Düsseldorf. In addition, there will be 3,500 accredited persons and approximately 50,000 spectators. To present a perfect and spectacular event to spectators as well as to players, the Table Tennis Marketing Company, the German Table Tennis Federation and the team of the Messe Düsseldorf have painstakingly been planning the event for two years. We have summed up the most interesting facts and figures about the WTTC.

The LIEBHERR World Championships are not only a top sport event, but also a real economic factor for Düsseldorf and the region. 18,000 accommodations will be booked and 20,000 kilometers of transport service will be organized for participants and accredited persons only. Also for the same group of people 45 cooks will prepare 22,500 lunch and dinner meals. They will use 50 tons of food. The restaurant will provide seats for a total of 800 persons. The list of logistical superlatives could be extended endlessly without even considering the approximate number of 50,000 spectators.

For the first time at world table tennis championships in Germany the competitions will take place at an altered fair hall. A steel tube grandstand with 8,000 seats will be specially set-up in hall 6 of Messe Düsseldorf. All together the center court, the second playing hall and the practice hall have the size of a soccer field with 64 tables. It takes more than one week to set-up the grandstand and the hall only. The equipment supplier DHS will provide the tables and the additional equipment, i. e. nearly two kilometres of surrounds. The ball supplier Nittaku will provide 6,000 plastic balls. The field of play with a total size of 8,000 square metres consists of the red table tennis floor provided by Gerflor and a wooden sub-floor. 50 volunteers will set-up the competition and practice areas. Speaking of volunteers: 280 volunteers will work in all corners of the WTTC - from transport service to doping control to catering. The number of volunteers applications was immense, a total number of 580 applications were sent to the organisers. With numerous LED surrounds, spotlights and video screens as well as with a WTTC specific court design a modern atmosphere will be created. Table tennis has changed in the past years especially regarding the presentation.

Pictures of the LIEBHERR World Championships and of the metropolis on the Rhine will be broadcast all over the world. In many parts of the world, especially in Asia, table tennis is really big just like soccer is in these parts. For comparison: The WTTC2016 in Malaysia was watched on TV by approx. 200 million spectators in China. There was a live broadcast from Kuala Lumpur to 90 countries. There were 15,000 printed and online articles. The ITTF Facebook page had a reach of 19 million users. For the news coverage about 600 journalists are expected to come to Düsseldorf, half of which will come from outside of Germany. Of course, the biggest public interest is in Asia. A crew of 50 persons only from the Japanese TV station TV Tokyo will travel to the metropolis on the Rhine and they will do a live coverage from the World Championships. It is quite for sure that the LIEBHERR 2017 World Table Tennis Championships will set new media records.

And the athletes? They will be accommodated in various hotels in Düsseldorf even if they actually live in Düsseldorf like Sabine Winter: "The hotel is right next to the venue so that during short match breaks we can return to our rooms. Also, we do not have to cook, wash and clean by ourselves during the WTTC", explains the European Champion in doubles. According to Winter the WTTC might become a unique event for spectators. This is for sure: "Whether young or old, everyone will have a lot of fun there."