The Bahraini capital of Manama will host the 2024 edition of weightlifting’s prestigious IWF World Championships.
The top-level annual competition will be held in November and December next year.
The coastal city was selected by a vote of the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) executive board yesterday (June 12) in Havana. The Cuban capital is currently hosting the 2023 IWF Grand Prix (June 8 to 18), a qualification event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France (July 26 to August 11, 2024).
Manama saw off competition from Yerevan in Armenia and Tirana in Albania to secure hosting rights for the “most important weightlifting event ever staged in Bahrain,” which recently also staged the 2022 Asian Championships.
Its bidding triumph will see the competition remain in the Middle East, with this year’s edition set to take place in the Saudi Arabian Capital of Riyadh from September 2 to 17. The 2025 edition had already been allocated to Forde in Norway.
Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq, president of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation, said: “I sincerely thank the IWF Executive Board for the support and trust in our bid. We promise we will not disappoint you. We will deliver a top-class event and the entire IWF Family will live an unforgettable experience in Bahrain.”
Also covered at the governing body’s board meeting were an update on its 2024-32 Strategic Plan (to be submitted for approval at September’s IWF Congress in Riyadh), an update on its sustainability and anti-doping efforts, and a lifting of temporary suspensions for Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, and the Cayman Islands.
In November 2022, it was announced that global sports marketing agency Sportfive had been appointed by the IWF to sell international media rights for the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as to the Grand Prix in 2023 and the IWF World Cup in 2024.
