As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, the 18th International School Sport Federation (ISF) Gymnasiade has been postponed by one year, to Oct 16-23, 2021. The event was originally scheduled to be held from Oct 17-24, 2020 in Jinjiang, a county-level city in Quanzhou, in East China's Fujian province.

The ISF, China School Sports Federation and the executive committee of the 18th Gymnasiade said in a joint statement that event organizers considered the safety of athletes and all participants as their top priority and will offer regular updates on the developing situation. Organizers are also closely monitoring public health conditions with relevant parties.

In October 2017, Jinjiang won the right to host the 18th Gymnasiade, becoming the second Chinese city to host the event following Shanghai in 1998.

Founded in 1974, the Gymnasiade is an international multi-sport event for teens organized by ISF and is held every two years.