Club Benefits
Starting in Keqiao in May and concluding in Santiago in October, the World Climbing Series — formerly the IFSC Climbing World Cup — is a 13-event globe-trotting competition incorporating the three core disciplines: Boulder, Lead and Speed. After an unusually low-key affair last season, we're expecting the likes of Janja Garnbret and Jakob Schubert to really dig in this time around.
You can watch World Climbing Series 2026 live streams from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for FREE!
The 2026 World Climbing Series runs from Friday, May 1 to Sunday, October 25. Full schedule below.
• FREE STREAMS — YouTube (U.S., Canada, Australia)
• U.K. — TNT Sports via HBO Max
• Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN 100% risk free
Several athletes, including Olympic gold and silver medalists Garnbret and Brooke Raboutou, opted to take things easy in the wake of Paris 2024, while Schubert's year was derailed by an early ligament injury, so they should be raring to go for the 2026 campaign.
After taking Olympic silver behind Toby Roberts, Sorato Anraku reigned supreme in the Boulder, with Alberto Gines Lopez winning the Lead and Kiromal Katibin the Speed. However, it's the teenager Zhao Yicheng that everyone's talking about. The 16-year-old set a new men’s Speed record of 4.58s on his first ever senior start in April, beating the previous time of 4.64s set by Sam Watson in Bali last May.
Erin McNeice, Oriane Bertone and Emma Hunt made the most of the absences of Garnbret and Raboutou to win the Lead, Boulder and Speed titles respectively, but there's a good chance they were only on short-term loan.
Check out all of the TV and streaming details below to find out how to watch World Climbing Series 2026 from anywhere, including free options. We’ve also listed the full schedule below so you don't miss a moment.
Watch World Climbing Series 2026 live streams for FREE
You can watch the World Climbing Series free-of-charge on the World Climbing YouTube channel, which is providing coverage in select countries, including the U.S., Canada and Australia.
Abroad right now? You may not be able to watch the action like you normally would due to regional restrictions. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Use a VPN to watch World Climbing Series 2026 for free — we’ll show you how below.
How to watch World Climbing Series 2026 from anywhere
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the competition on your usual subscription?
You can still watch World Climbing Series 2026 live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear as if they're back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market:
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you want to watch the free World Climbing Series coverage on YouTube, choose 'United States' from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to YouTube, sign in, and watch World Climbing Series 2026 live.
How to watch World Climbing Series 2026 live streams around the world
The 2026 World Climbing Series is free-to-air on the World Climbing YouTube channel in select countries, including the U.S., Canada and Australia.
We're expecting coverage to be limited to semi-finals and finals.
Traveling abroad and don't want to miss out? Don't worry, you can still access that free coverage via a VPN. We recommend NordVPN.
How to watch World Climbing Series 2026 live streams in the U.K.
The World Climbing Series is available to watch on TNT Sports channels in the U.K. You can get them by adding TNT Sports to your Sky, Virgin Media, or EE TV package.
Alternatively, you can pay from £25.99 per month for an HBO Max plan that includes TNT Sports.
If you have a subscription but you're not in the U.K. right now, try using NordVPN to watch World Climbing Series 2026 as if you were back at home.
World Climbing Series schedule 2026
Keqiao — Fri, May 1 - Sun, May 3
Boulder
Wujiang — Fri, May 8 - Sun, May 10
Lead, Speed
Bern — Fri, May 22 - Sun, May 24
Boulder
Madrid — Thu, May 28 - Sun, May 31
Boulder, Speed
Prague — Wed, Jun 3 - Sun, Jun 7
Boulder, Lead
Innsbruck — Wed, Jun 17 - Sun, Jun 21
Boulder, Lead
Krakow — Fri, Jul 3 - Sun, Jul 5
Speed
Chamonix — Fri, Jul 10 - Sun, Jul 12
Speed, Lead
Koper — Fri, Sep 4 - Sat, Sep 5
Lead
Guiyang — Fri, Sep 11 - Sun, Sep 13
Speed
Chongqing — Fri, Sep 18 - Sun, Sep 20
Speed
Salt Lake City — Fri, Oct 16 - Sun, Oct 18
Boulder
Santiago — Fri, Oct 23 - Sun, Oct 25
Speed, Lead
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