1991 Summer Universiade

XVI Summer Universiade
Host citySheffield, United Kingdom
MottoThe Future of Sport
Nations101
Athletes3,346
Events123 in 11 sports
Opening14 July 1991
Closing25 July 1991
Opened byAnne, Princess Royal
Torch lighterHelen Sharman
Main venueDon Valley Stadium


The 1991 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XVI Summer Universiade and generally referred to as the World Student Games, were held in Sheffield, England from 14 to 25 July 1991. The Games were the largest sporting event to be hosted in the United Kingdom since the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Sheffield City Council saw the event as a catalyst for urban renewal and regeneration after industrial decline.[1][2] It set up a company, Universiade GB Ltd, to run the games. New facilities built for the event included the centrepiece Don Valley Stadium and other arenas, while the Lyceum Theatre was renovated for the associated cultural events.[1]

More than 3,300 athletes took part from 101 countries, including the first appearance of a unified German team at a Summer Universiade.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Troubled student games 'were almost scrapped'". Sheffield Telegraph. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  2. ^ "World Student Games: Sheffield's forgotten sporting spectacle". BBC News. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Spotlight: Remembering the Sheffield 1991 Summer Universiade". www.fisu.net. Retrieved 16 May 2022.