Hosts for 2019 IPC Swimming World Championships Wanted

IPC Swimming has launched the bid process for the 2019 World Championships, cough the ninth edition of one of the world’s biggest gatherings of para-athletes.

As well as being an opportunity for swimmers to win coveted world titles, it will be one of the final qualification opportunities for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and is expected to attract around 700 athletes from 70 countries.

The bid documents can be found at IPC Swimming website. The bid process will close on 1 February 2016.

Xavier Gonzalez, IPC Chief Executive Officer, said: “Swimming is one of our biggest and most popular sports and attracts a huge amount of interest from fans and the media.

“In recent years we have seen the quality of World Championships improve every time, especially with the new gold standard created in Glasgow, Great Britain, this summer.

“In Glasgow, we welcomed the largest ever number of broadcasters and media to a Worlds and after the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games we expect this to increase further.

“There are numerous benefits to hosting major international competitions, not least their potential legacy for tourism, accessibility and exposure for venues and cities.”

Glasgow 2015 attracted 16 broadcasters from eight countries and hundreds of media from around the world, who beamed coverage of the 152 medal events and 38 world records to their audiences.

Glasgow 2015 also had a potential reach of nearly nine million people online and on social media and over 3.5 million through television and print news coverage.

In 2013, the IPC Swimming World Championships were held in North America for the first time in Montreal, Canada, attracting new audiences.

In 2016, the IPC Swimming European Open Championships will take place in Funchal, on the island of Madeira, Portugal.

The host for the 2017 World Championships is currently being decided.