Beijing to host the World Aquatics Championship
February 13, 2024
World Aquatics has confirmed that the Chinese capital will host the World Aquatics Championships – Beijing 2029, following a bidding process and careful consideration by the World Aquatics Bureau.
The flagship World Aquatics event will welcome more than 2,500 world-class athletes from over 200 countries and regions to compete in the six aquatic sports of swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving.
A proven host with a strong record of successfully delivering World Aquatics events, the People’s Republic of China has organised over 100 major aquatics competitions, 37 of which have taken place in Beijing. Having previously hosted two editions of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, alongside countless other major sporting events, Beijing promises an unforgettable experience for both athletes and fans.
Further solidifying its commitment to aquatic sports, China will host three World Aquatics events in 2024 alone: the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in Beijing (5-7 April), the World Aquatics Diving World Cup – Super Final in Xi’an (19-21 April), and the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Shanghai (18-20 October).
The showcase World Aquatics event will be organised in close cooperation with the China Swimming Association and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports.
World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam said: Beijing has repeatedly welcomed major aquatics events, providing excellent conditions that enable our athletes to perform at their very best. For this, we are deeply grateful,” said World Aquatics President Al-Musallam. “Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with our friends in China, we know the global aquatics community can look forward to world-class sporting action and entertainment in one of the world’s most iconic cities. We are also very thankful to the other cities that expressed an interest in hosting. The World Aquatics Championships have become a compelling event for participants, spectators, viewers, partners and organisers alike.”
An aquatics hotspot, Beijing has hosted 15 editions of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, along with multiple World Cup events in swimming, diving, artistic swimming and water polo. China also hosted both the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Hangzhou in 2018 and the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai in 2011.
In addition to the World Aquatics Championships – Beijing 2029, the Chinese capital will also host the World Aquatics Masters Championships – Beijing 2029. The exact dates for both of these events will be announced in due course.
With the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 currently taking place in Doha, Team China had a dominant first week in the Qatari capital, taking 16 golds out of 29 events to top the medal table.
“The People’s Republic of China is deeply passionate about aquatic sports. We have a very proud history of welcoming the best aquatics athletes to our country,” said China Swimming Association President Zhou Jihong. “We are therefore very honoured with Beijing being awarded the opportunity to host the world’s largest aquatics event, the World Aquatics Championships, in 2029.”
Following Doha, the 2025 and 2027 editions of the World Aquatics Championships will be hosted in Singapore and Budapest, respectively.
