The 35th Qingdao International Beer Festival, themed "Qingdao, Ganbei (Cheers) with the World", is to run from July 18 to Aug 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 35th Qingdao International Beer Festival, themed "Qingdao, Ganbei (Cheers) with the World", will run from July 18 to Aug 16.

This year, Qingdao will host the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Week" event during the festival. The aim is to enhance Qingdao's international influence and city brand value as "the tourism and cultural capital of the SCO for 2024 to 2025" by integrating cultural and tourism resources from SCO member countries and creating a platform to showcase SCO elements.

In addition to the "SCO Week" themed activities, the festival will host the Qingdao International Friendly City Exchange Month, International Beer Festival Alliance Meeting, and other colorful activities, positioning the beer festival as a truly global event.

As part of the 2025 SCO summer series of events, the Qingdao International Beer Festival's "SCO Week" will take place from July 25 to 31 at the Qingdao International Beer City. The event will focus on international cultural exchanges, specialty product exhibitions, and intangible cultural heritage experiences, leveraging the festival's large visitor flow to establish a market-oriented activity system blending festival celebrations with SCO characteristics.

"We are currently introducing a variety of SCO specialty wines such as Russian beer, Azerbaijani pomegranate wine, and Armenian apricot wine to the Beer Festival, alongside popular SCO products like Russian ice cream, Azerbaijani pomegranate juice, and Turkish coffee," stated an official of the management committee of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, also known as SCODA.

The event will also feature national folk dances and musical performances, allowing both domestic and international visitors to immerse themselves in SCO culture by the seaside of the Yellow Sea, offering an in-depth travel and cultural experience.