Bid cycle for major events extended to four years

(BEIJING, June 11) -- According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the bid cycle will be extended for major world badminton events, adding another 2 years to the previous two-year cycle.

According to Anne Smillie, chair of the BWF Sports Committee, the extended bid cycle will give "bidding nations more time to submit a comprehensive business plan for staging an event and, if successful, then afford them ample time to prepare for it in terms of planning, marketing and promoting sponsors."

The decision means that the first major world badminton event included in the four-year cycle will be the 2013 Sudirman Cup. The 2009 Sudirman Cup will be held in Guangzhou, China, with the 2011 Cup host nation still unconfirmed.