Climbing's World Cup comes to Scotland

The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), together with the British Mountaineering Council and GB Climbing, agreed today that Edinburgh, Scotland will host the 13th event of the IFSC World Cup Series 2022 from 9 to 11 September.

The event replaces the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup that was originally scheduled to take place in Wujiang, China, but was cancelled earlier this year due to ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

IFSC President Marco Scolaris said: “It is always a challenge to find replacement hosts for events that are cancelled at short notice, but we know from experience that Edinburgh will rise to the challenge and organise an event that will be successful. I big thank to the authorities in Scotland and to our counterparts at the British Mountaineering Council and GB Climbing.”

It will be a welcome return for the IFSC to the Scottish capital, which last hosted an IFSC event in 2019 – the European Championships in Lead and Speed – and last staged a World Cup event in 2017.

“The introduction of climbing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 successfully introduced our amazing sport to a massive new audience, and we now have the perfect opportunity to capitalise on that inspiration with an IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup hosted on home soil, ahead of Paris 2024,” said Lorraine Brown, Head of Performance for GB Climbing. “Not only does this offer us the chance to place the spotlight on one of the most exciting and adrenaline-fuelled sports out there, it’ll be a valuable experience for our athletes - competing against the very best in the world, on an international stage.

“We are grateful to our partners Event Scotland, the Edinburgh City Council, and Mountaineering Scotland for their support with this event.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “EventScotland is delighted to be supporting the return of world-class climbing to Edinburgh in 2022. Scotland is the one of the best places in the world to experience events and we’re excited to add the IFSC World Cup to our portfolio of sporting events taking place this year. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver an outstanding event for the competitors and climbing fans.”

Jamie Smith, Development Manager for Mountaineering Scotland’s Climb Scotland team said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the Scottish climbing community to come, watch and be inspired by world class athletes competing on their doorstep.

“Mountaineering Scotland looks forward to working with BMC, IFSC, Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, EventScotland and Edinburgh City Council around this event to make it an awesome experience for everyone involved, from athletes to spectators.

“We can’t wait to see the venue filled and buzzing with spectators cheering on all the athletes, which will no doubt include some of Scotland’s GB Climbing team members too.”

News and updates on the event will be available on the IFSC website and on the Federation's social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.