The announcement comes after the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) signed an agreement with the WSB to host the World Superseries Finals in 2011 and 2012 before choosing a suitable location in the country to host the event this year following huge interest from a number of Chinese cities.

Last year, Liuzhou was awarded the event while Shenzhen, which recently hosted the 2011 Summer Universiade, was chosen as the location for the event this year because it is one of the most modern Chinese cities.

"We believe that Shenzhen is an excellent choice to host the 2012 season-ending tournament for the sport's commercial series," said BWF secretary general Thomas Lund after his organisation approved the nomination from the CBA.

"What the city represents aligns with the new BWF brand as the BWF have in 2012 also rebranded to stand for modernity, efficiency and strength.

"We are only pleased that Shenzhen (pictured below) carries that flavour."


The competition, which takes place at the China Resources Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre between December 12 and 16, will feature the top eight qualifiers from the World Superseries standings in the men's and women's singles, the men's and women's doubles and the mixed doubles disciplines – with a quota of two players or pairs per country for each discipline.

In addition, a total of $500,000 (£315,900/€383,692) in prize money will be up for grabs for the players.

Liu Fengyan, the director of Chinese Badminton and the BFW vice-president, admitted that China is a good location for the event because it has not been overly affected by the global economic recession.

"We understand that the current uncertain economic climate in the western part of the world has made it more challenging for many to host major events," said Liu.

"China is not only in a favourable position to host them, but it also offers a strong and sturdy fan base for the sport to remain confident in garnering local support to stage major events like this."

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