2025 Climbing World Championships to be held in Seoul

The South Korean capital Seoul will host the 2025 Climbing World Championships after the IFSC General Assembly awarded hosting rights to the Korea Alpine Federation (KAF).

With a population of around 10 million, the Korean metropolis will host the third World Championships to be held in Asia, and the first in South Korea. The first Asian host of the competition was Qinghai, China in 2009, with Hachioji, Japan becoming the second in 2019.

Seoul made its debut on the IFSC World Cup circuit in 2022 by welcoming the Boulder and Speed disciplines in May, the second stop on the 2022 calendar. The city is also set to host a World Cup event for the second consecutive year at the end of April 2023 before the premier youth event – the Climbing Youth World Championships – takes place in the city from 18 to 27 August 2023.

The 2023 IFSC Climbing and Paraclimbing World Championships are set to take place in the Swiss capital of Bern from 1 to 12 August 2023 and will offer the first qualifying opportunities for the following year’s Olympic Games, where Sport Climbing will award two gold medals per gender: in the new Boulder & Lead format, and in Speed.