The 16th World Leisure Hybrid Congress, taking place in April 2021, has been given the title “Leisure Makes Life Better”.

Organised by the World Leisure Organization (WLO), the event was originally scheduled to take place in Beijing in October 2020, but was rescheduled as an online congress due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Considered the most influential academic event in leisure, the first congress was held in 1988 and has since been held every two years.

WLO is now inviting abstract submissions for the event, with a deadline of Friday 18 December 2020. To find out more about the thematic areas of the 2021 Congress, click here.

Registration for the congress has also now opened and WLO is providing a free online registration! To register, click here.

"We are inviting the entire global leisure community to connect with each other to share and explore new ideas, current challenges and opportunities," WLO said in a statement.

"The 16th World Leisure Congress will be hosted in a hybrid mode giving the opportunity for a face to face and an online experience, no matter where you are.

"In these uncertain times we are calling the global leisure field community to raise the voice and advocate for the importance and relevance of leisure."

• Leisure Media is the WLO's global media partner.