The Race of Champions will move from Wembley to Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium in November as the first major international sporting event to be held there since the 2008 Olympics, organisers said yesterday.

The event, pitting champions and leading names from the world of motorsport against each other in a range of vehicles, has been held in London for the past two years after three editions at the Stade de France in Paris.

The November 3-4 event comes just two days after the final round of the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi and moves to a midweek slot for the first time.

"We received exciting proposals from five world-class stadia, but after the incredible Olympics last year, Beijing's candidacy was difficult to ignore," organiser Fredrik Johnsson said in a statement.

"The Bird's Nest venue is awesome and having spent the last five years at two of Europe's biggest stadiums, we were thrilled about the opportunity to take The Race of Champions to Asia for the first time."

Last year's participants included retired seven times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher and world rally champion Sebastien Loeb.

The Bird's Nest has struggled to find a role since 91,000 people packed the stadium for last year's Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.