World Aquatics declares world five-city lineup for 2026 Artistic Swimming World Cup

LAUSANNE – World Aquatics at present introduced the 5 host cities throughout 4 continents for the 2026 Artistic Swimming World Cup, culminating within the Super Final in Toronto.

Entering its tenth season, the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup brings collectively the world’s prime athletes on the worldwide stage.

The 2026 tour will function 5 stops, starting in Medellin, Colombia, in February and concluding with the Super Final in Toronto, Canada, in June.

Here is the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup occasion schedule for 2026:

The Artistic Swimming World Cup opener in Medellin marks the primary time Colombia will host a World Cup occasion. It may even be simply the fourth time the nation has staged a global aquatics competitors, following the 1975 World Aquatics Championships in Cali and the Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Challenger Cups in Barranquilla in 2021. Colombia has additionally been making its mark in creative swimming, with Gustavo Sanchez incomes silver within the Men’s Solo Free on the Fukuoka 2023 Worlds and bronze within the Men’s Solo Technical on the Doha 2024 version.

Since its debut on the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, creative swimming has been dominated by northern hemisphere athletes. Of the greater than 360 medals awarded throughout 22 world championships, solely two have gone to athletes from the Southern Hemisphere.

“For Medellin to host the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup is one thing actually particular, not just for Colombia however for all of Latin America,” mentioned Sanchez, the 2024 World Aquatics Male Artistic Swimmer of the Year. “Having this as the first World Cup ever held in our country just shows how far our sport has come. Growing up, artistic swimming was something we watched from afar, dominated by athletes in the northern hemisphere. To now welcome the world’s best to Colombia is an incredible source of inspiration for today’s athletes and for the next generation. This really is a dream come true for me and so many other artistic swimmers.”

The Complejo acuático Atanasio Girardot, just lately renovated for the 2025 PanAm Aquatics Championships, will function the Medellin occasion venue.

Following Medellin, the Artistic Swimming World Cup tour will subsequent go to Paris, France. The cease builds on the success of the Paris 2024 Games, the place creative swimming’s world development and advances in artistry and athleticism was clearly on show.

France has traditionally been a hotspot for aquatics, internet hosting 34 earlier worldwide competitions. This contains internet hosting the Artistic Swimming World Cup 10 instances, with Paris set to welcome the occasion for a 3rd consecutive version. Drawing on town’s aquatic heritage, the competitors will happen at Piscine Georges Vallerey, the venue that hosted swimming, diving, and water polo on the Paris 1924 Olympic Games.

“I am really looking forward to competing again at the World Cup in Paris,” said French national team member Romane Lunel. “I love the enthusiasm of the French spectators. They bring so much energy. It’s really amazing.”

From Paris, the Artistic Swimming World Cup will return to the Xi’an Olympic Sports Center Natatorium in China, which hosted final 12 months’s Super Final. Artistic swimming continues to develop in China, the place the nation received its first-ever Olympic medals within the sport on the Paris 2024 Games. These achievements observe China’s latest successes on the World Cup and World Aquatics Championships. Xi’an additionally underscores China’s experience in internet hosting world sports activities occasions and can mark the nation’s 111th World Aquatics competitors.

“China has an incredible passion for aquatics, and every time we compete at home, the energy in the arena is unforgettable,” said Chang Hao, an 11-time artistic swimming world champion who earned three team titles at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. “China takes great pride in hosting world-class events, and athletes from around the world often tell me how much they look forward to competing here because of the atmosphere and the way everything is organised. For me, having the chance to compete in Xi’an in front of our fans is very special and motivates me to give my very best.”

After Xi’an, the Artistic Swimming World Cup strikes to the northwestern Spanish metropolis of Pontevedra for the fourth cease of the 2026 tour. Pontevedra will host Spain’s forty ninth World Aquatics occasion and its eighth Artistic Swimming World Cup. The competitors was final held in Spain in the course of the 2023 Super Finals.

With creative swimming a well-liked spectator sport in Spain and the nationwide group boasting distinctive expertise, Pontevedra guarantees to be a must-see occasion in 2026.

Four-time world champion Iris Tio Casas says she’s already highlighted the Pontevedra occasion on her 2026 calendar.

“Artistic swimming has such a strong tradition in Spain, and every time we compete at home, we feel the incredible support from the community. I still remember the 2023 Super Final—so many artistic swimming clubs came to cheer for us, and after our performances, they wanted to meet us and share in the moment. That connection with the fans and fellow artistic swimmers made for an unforgettable event. Hosting the World Cup in Pontevedra will be another chance to feel that same energy, and I can’t wait to be part of it again.”

The remaining cease of the Artistic Swimming World Cup returns to Toronto, with competitors happening on the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, a premier facility with a number of Olympic-sized swimming pools constructed for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Canada has a robust legacy of internet hosting main worldwide aquatics occasions, together with the 2005 and 2016 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal and Windsor, in addition to greater than 119 different World Aquatics competitions. The nation has additionally seen a latest rise in creative swimming, highlighted by world titles on the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Audrey Lamothe, a three-time World Cup winner who earned 4 podiums when Canada final hosted the Artistic Swimming World Cup in 2024 and 2023, shared her pleasure concerning the collection returning to her residence nation.

“It’s always an immense honour to compete in a World Cup in your home country. I vividly remember performing at the home World Cups in 2023 and 2024. It gives me goosebumps to think I will get another chance to experience this again in 2026,” Lamothe mentioned.

The complete prize cash for the 2026 Artistic Swimming World Cup is $570,000 USD, with $72,500 distributed throughout the primary 4 stops and $280,000 awarded on the Super Final. To be eligible for prize cash, athletes should take part in at the least 51 p.c of the stops.

In what guarantees to be one other thrilling 12 months of competitors, the 2026 Artistic Swimming Junior Championships may even happen, with the host metropolis to be introduced quickly.

Editor’s Note: The World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup was previously referred to as the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, which ran from 2017 to 2022. Before this, World Aquatics held a single annual world creative swimming occasion. This occasion was referred to as the Synchro World Trophy from 2006 to 2016 and the Synchronised Swimming World Cup from 1979 to 2014.