ALMATY – United World Wrestling (UWW) has officially confirmed Astana as the host city for the 2026 Wrestling World Championships, reported the Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee on May 22. The decision was approved by the UWW Executive Committee following a review of current geopolitical factors and ongoing challenges affecting international travel and event logistics.
The tournament had originally been scheduled to take place in Manama after Bahrain received hosting rights last year. However, UWW and the Bahrain Wrestling Federation later announced in a joint statement that the championships would be relocated. Following inspection visits and evaluations of potential venues, Kazakhstan was selected as the new host country.
The championships will be held at Barys Arena, one of the country’s largest sports venues. Astana previously hosted the Wrestling World Championships in 2019, an event widely regarded as successful both organizationally and competitively. The 2026 tournament will feature competitions in freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling and women’s wrestling, bringing together top athletes from around the world.
UWW said the detailed competition schedule and additional organizational information will be announced at a later date. Earlier this year, The Astana Times highlighted the 2026 sports calendar as a landmark year for Kazakh sports, featuring global competitions ranging from the Winter Olympics to the Games of the Future and other major international tournaments.