The 2026 European Rowing Championships have been awarded to Italy. The city of Varese is set to host the continental regatta from July 30 to August 2, with an estimated 500 athletes from more than 30 nations expected to compete in the Senior, Lightweight, and Pararowing categories.
World Rowing selected the Schiranna regatta course, a venue with a proven track record. It previously hosted the European Championships in 2012 and 2021, along with other major international events including the 2013 World Rowing Masters Championships, the 2014 and 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships (the latter held alongside other events), and the World Rowing Cup in 2015, 2016, and from 2023 to 2025. The 2026 Europeans will be a precursor to the World Rowing Masters Championships, which were awarded to Varese in December 2024 and will be held there in 2027.
The 2026 Championships are expected to feature many of the same athletes who will compete at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam just a few weeks later, scheduled for August 23-30. The summer of 2026 will see Italy actively hosting rowing events from north to south, further highlighted by the Mediterranean Games, where rowing competitions will be held at a new regatta course in Taranto from August 29 to September 1.
“The awarding of the 2026 Europeans to Varese, just weeks after the success of the World Cup and the Youth Festival, is a great source of pride for all of Italian rowing,” commented Davide Tizzano, President of the Italian Rowing Federation. “Varese is a guarantee of reliability for international rowing. Over the past year, our federal council, as an increasingly active part of the organizing committee, has worked in synergy with local institutions to create the conditions for this important bid. The €950,000 in funding allocated to the FIC by the government allowed us to secure this major international event from World Rowing.”