IPC Swimming is seeking bidders for the 2019 edition of its World Swimming Championships, which will be the 9th edition of one of the world’s largest para-athlete competitions. The bidding process is officially launched as of today and remains open until February 1, 2016.
The 2015 edition of the meet saw a remarkable 1050 accredited team members convene on host Glasgow, Scotland, journeying from 67 different countries to contest 152 swimming events. The 2015 meet’s overall budget is estimated to be in the range of 1.600.000 to 1.800.000 € ($1,800,000-2,100,000), per the IPC’s reporting.
Of additional significance, the IPC World Swimming Championships will serve as an opportunity for athletes to swim away with world titles as one of the final qualification opportunities for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
IPC Chief Executive Officer, Xavier Gonzalez, is encouraged by the recent interest in the sport, indicating that “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.”
Glasgow’s IPC World Swimming Championships saw the largest number of broadcast and media at a Worlds, including 16 broadcasters from 8 countries and hundreds of media from all around the globe. The IPC says that Glasgow 2015 also saw a “potential reach of nearly 9 million people online and on social media, and over 3.5 million through television and print new coverage.” These measures are only expected to increase after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 2016 IPC Swimming European OPen Championships are slated for Funchal on the island of Madeira, Portugal, while the host of the 2017 World Championships is still being determined.