The ball is now in play in Hanover. A ceremony attended by around 1,000 people at Swiss Life Hall provided a fitting start to the international table tennis competition.
The PingPongParkinson World Championships are officially open. The opening ceremony took place on Friday evening at Swiss Life Hall in Hanover, one of three venues hosting the international championships, which will run until September 30 in the capital of Lower Saxony.
“This is the biggest table tennis event in Lower Saxony in 30 years and the largest Parkinson’s event of all time. We have achieved this together and built it together,” said Thorsten Boomhuis. He is the founder and chairman of PingPongParkinson Deutschland, the organisation hosting the World Championships for athletes living with Parkinson’s disease. By comparison, the first PingPongParkinson World Championships in 2019 attracted just 61 participants. At the sixth edition in 2025, the most recent to date, that number had risen to a record 324 competitors.
Before Boomhuis took the stage, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Health Andreas Philippi, Hanover’s Lord Mayor Belit Onay, and Reinhard Rawe, CEO of the Sports Confederation of Lower Saxony, had addressed the approximately 1,000 spectators. The opening ceremony featured musical and dance performances as well as the Parade of Nations. It was hosted with confidence and charm by well-known ZDF journalist Norbert König.
Before the ceremony, Onay and Markus Söhngen, Managing Director of the Table Tennis Association of Lower Saxony, had exchanged a few rallies at a mini table in the foyer of Swiss Life Hall. “I’m actually more used to playing with bigger balls as a basketball player,” Onay joked. He added: “It’s fantastic to see that Hanover is once again a city of sport and to witness the wonderful international competition taking place here.” Onay then left Söhngen with no chance, unleashing a powerful backhand.
Boomhuis and Nenad Bach, the initiator of the worldwide PingPongParkinson movement, then performed the symbolic first serve to officially launch the World Championships. The tournament itself gets underway on Saturday, September 26, with matches taking place across three halls at the Hanover Sports Park. Participants from 35 nations will compete, representing every continent except Africa. Up to 800 athletes, two-thirds of them from Germany, will contest a total of 4,000 matches for victories and placings. A total of 90 tables will be available, including 40 at Swiss Life Hall. The remaining tables are located in the Sports Hall of the Sports Confederation of Lower Saxony, at the neighbouring Academy of Sports, and in the hockey hall of Hannover 78, just a few minutes’ walk away within the sports park.
Competitions will be held across three different impairment categories, with events in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. More than 200 volunteers will help ensure the World Championships run smoothly.
Beyond the sporting action, the Academy of Sports will also host a range of additional events. The supporting programme includes training sessions, workshops, talks, exhibitions and further information, all focusing on Parkinson’s disease. The aim is to improve understanding of the condition and promote a better approach to living with it in everyday life and in sport.
Throughout the World Championships, live coverage from Swiss Life Hall will be available via sporteurope.tv. Three cameras will capture the action across several tables. Scores and results can be found on the official event website at www.pppwc.net. A photo gallery is available here.
Text: Stephan Hartung
Photo captions
Photo 1: The World Championships are underway! ©Pixel Media
Photo 2: Nenad Bach, initiator of the worldwide PingPongParkinson movement, at the opening of the World Championships in Hanover. ©Pixel Media
Photo 3: Hanover’s Lord Mayor Belit Onay (left) and Markus Söhngen, Managing Director of the Table Tennis Association of Lower Saxony, exchange a few rallies at the mini table. ©Pixel Media
Photo 4: A view inside Swiss Life Hall: Around 1,000 spectators attend the opening ceremony of the PingPongParkinson World Championships. ©Stephan Hartung