A municipal canoe marathon is held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province on Sept 5. [Photo/IC]

The 2021 ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup will be held in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang province in October next year, according to a statement from the municipal sports bureau of Shaoxing on Nov 20.

The event was signed off on by Thomas Konietzko, vice-president of the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and Wu Haiming, director of the municipal sports bureau, at the third Shaoxing International Friendship Cities Conference on Nov 13.

It will be the second time for Shaoxing to host the ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup since 2017. The local government will use the opportunity to showcase the city's hospitality and environment, according to Wu.

An agreement to host the 2021 ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup is signed online during the third Shaoxing International Friendship Cities Conference on Nov 13. [Photo/WeChat account:sxfabu]

"I'm very sad that I'm not able to come to Shaoxing. Staging such a major event in China was my 'baby,' and I would have loved to see it through to the end," said Jorn Cronberg (1948-2019), late inaugural chair of ICF's canoe marathon committee, in a letter to Shaoxing.

"It has been a great pleasure getting to know you, and I offer my sincerest wishes for a successful event. You deserve that, with all the effort and hard work you have put into the preparations. Please extend my warm greetings to my good friends in Shaoxing."

Shaoxing is a national water sports base and has been integrating the sports industry with industrial economy to turn the city into an "international destination for sports events," according to Wu.