At one point, a total of eight cities had expressed an interest in hosting the 2021 and 2023 FINA World Aquatic Championships, but that list has dwindled down to just three.
Australia and Germany were the first two potential hosts to drop their bid, followed by the United Arab Emirates and then most recently by Argentina. That leaves just Nanjing, China, Fukuoka, Japan and Doha, Qatar in the running as the site of the aquatic world’s biggest event aside from the Olympics now that the bidding deadline has arrived.
Budapest, Hungary was originally awarded the 2021 edition of the championships but, due to the city of Guadalajara, Mexico backing out of their 2017 hosting duties, stepped up and took on the event. As such, Budapest’s 2021 hosting spot became open again. Gwangju, South Korea, the site of this year’s World University Games, has already been awarded the 2019 FINA World Championships.
All three cities that remain in the running have significant hosting credentials, as Nanjing was the site of 2014’s Youth Olympic Games. For its part, Fukuoka hosted the 2001 World Championships. Doha is also no stranger to hosting sizable international swimming events as it served as host of the 2014 World Short Course Championships, as well as serving as a consistent stop within the FINA World Cup tour.
FINA will vote to decide which two cities will host the 2021 and 2023 worlds at a meeting to be held in Dubai on November 8th.