03770nas a2200433   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653000900043653001000052653001200062653003500074653001400109653001100123653001000134653001000144653002100154653001100175653001200186653000800198653002600206653002500232653003400257653001000291653001600301653001800317653002400335653002100359653001000380653001700390100001300407700001700420700001500437700001700452700001400469245017000483856015200653490000700805520252400812                                       d10aBays10aChina10aCulture10aGeographic information systems10aHong Kong10aHumans10aMacao10aMacau10aspatial analysis10aSports10aarticle10abay10acultural anthropology10aEconomic development10aGeographic information system10ahuman10aInheritance10ajurisprudence10aresource allocation10aspatial analysis10asport10aurbanization1 aBochu Mo1 aXinjie Zhang1 aWanyi Chen1 aRundong Zhou1 aJie Zhang00aResearch on the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of sports intangible cultural heritage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105011761883&doi=10.1038%2Fs41598-025-10734-3&partnerID=40&md5=c2cb28926a23642c5632528e504f33970 v153 aSports Intangible Cultural Heritage (SICH) serves as both a vital testament to the shared cultural roots of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and a treasured resource for fostering a collaborative, culturally enriched Bay Area. Combining field surveys and GIS spatial analysis, and adopting the methods of the nearest neighbor index, geographic concentration index, imbalance index, kernel density estimation and geographical detectors, the study aims to analyze the characteristics of the spatial distribution of the 264 SICH projects in the GBA, and to explore the main factors affecting their distribution. The findings reveal that the spatial distribution of SICH in the GBA is highly concentrated, with obvious aggregation characteristics. The overall characteristics are “dense in the west, sparse in the east”, forming the distribution pattern of “two cores, three belts”. The “two cores” refers to the formation of a large-scale high-density agglomeration area with southwestern Guangzhou and northeastern Foshan as the core, and another small-scale high-density agglomeration area with southern Hong Kong as the core and expanding from south to north. The “three belts” refers to the formation of three areas of agglomeration density in central Guangzhou-northeastern Jiangmen, western Guangzhou-eastern Zhuhai and Dongguan-Hong Kong. The spatial distribution of the four different types of SICH varies considerably, with significant variations in density. The spatial distribution pattern of SICH in the GBA is mainly influenced by socioeconomic and history and culture, with population, social organization, urbanization level, economic development level, and policy support being the dominant factors, and the influence of physical geography being less strong. The role of influencing factors after interaction is generally strengthened, among which the interaction between urbanization level and social organization is the most obvious. The distribution pattern of SICH in the GBA is subject to the synergy effect of multiple factors. From the perspective of synergy theory, the internal mechanism of its spatial distribution is explained from the logic framework of “synergistic dynamic—synergistic structure—synergistic relationship”. Finally, the study proposes suggestions for the synergistic development of SICH in the GBA in terms of promoting cross-regional cooperation, securing government support, enhancing resource allocation and digital dissemination.