The sport climbing world championship 2023 will take place in Switzerland

After 22 years, the most important international sport climbing competition is returning to Switzerland. The climbing and paraclimbing world championships will be held in Bern in 2023. The international sport climbing association IFSC accepted the Swiss candidacy at its plenary meeting today.

For the Swiss sport climbing scene, the award of the World Cup for the year 2023 is good news. After the World Championships in Geneva in 1995 and in Winterthur in 2001, Switzerland will host the world's best bouldering, lead and speed climbers for the third time in 2023. The World Cup is also expected to include the qualifying competition for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
 
As a national sport climbing association, the Swiss Alpine Club SAC, together with the city of Bern and the two World Cup organizers Meiringen and Villars, submitted the candidacy dossier. At the online general meeting of the international sport climbing association IFSC on Friday, November 13th, Switzerland prevailed over the submissions from Korea and China.

This World Cup offers the SAC a great opportunity to present itself to an international audience and to make sport climbing even better known in Switzerland

Françoise Jaquet, SAC President

Eleven days of sport climbing spectacle

Thanks to its central location within Switzerland, but also in Europe, the city of Bern is the ideal venue for this major event. From August 2 to 13, 2023, there will be climbing in the PostFinance Arena. With around 17 seats, it is the largest ice rink in Switzerland.

Petra Klingler, Bouldering World Champion 2016 and qualified Olympic participant for Tokyo 2021 is also very happy about the positive decision.

It fills me with pride and honor that the world's best climbers are coming to Bern for the World Championships in 2023. In the meantime, Bern has become my second home.

Petra Klingler


In the coming weeks and months the focus will be on building up the organizing committee. This is supported by the experienced World Cup organizers Meiringen and Villars, among others. Both have been an integral part of the competition calendar since 2016.

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Credits: Text Swiss Alpine Club SAC

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