How to watch 2025 IFSC Climbing World Championships: catch the action from anywhere in the world and get 70% off with our exclusive Nord VPN deal

Chaehyun Seo will have here eyes on the gold medal in Seoul (Image credit: Getty Images)

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About this week's event
IFSC World Championships Schedule

This guide explains how to watch 2025 IFSC Climbing World Championships live streams over the first round of the competition. There are free viewing options in the US and Canada, and we also explain how you can use a safe VPN to watch your usual coverage if you're away from home.

IFSC Climbing World Championships live streams: key information

• Dates: Sunday, Sept 21 - Sunday, Sept 28, 2025
• FREE Streams: IFSC YouTube Channel (US, Canada, Aus)
• UK: Discovery+, TNT Sports
• Europe: Discovery+, Eurosport
• Unblock YouTube stream: try NordVPN 100% risk-free, with 70% off

We're approaching the start of the 2025 IFSC Climbing World Championships, but there's still time to grab a free stream and catch the action ahead of lead climbing qualification on day one (Sept 21, 6am BST / 1 am ET).

The IFSC World Climbing Championships is different from the World Cup season. It’s a stand-alone event, held every two years, that crowns world champions in each discipline.

This week's 19th edition takes place in Seoul, South Korea, where the world's best boulderers, speed climbers, and lead climbers will compete against each other over 7 days of blister-inducing holds.

Multiple world champion and legend of the sport, Kim Jain will be in front of her home crowd alongside Seo Chaehyun.

Each discipline has separate medals. Unlike the Olympics, there’s no combined format here—so a climber can become world champion in one discipline without competing in the others.

Sorato Anraku climbing at the Paris 2024 Olympics (Image credit: Getty Images)

Read on to find out how and where to watch the 2025 IFSC Climbing World Championships wherever you are in the world.

Our guide to rock climbing terms will help you keep up with any unfamiliar jargon in the commentary, and if you want to give this exciting sport a try for yourself, you can also read about getting started in climbing.

Watch the IFSC Climbing World Championships for free in the U.S. and Canada

Want to watch from the U.S. or Canada? Then you're in luck, as you'll be able to stream the entire 2025 competition for free on the IFSC YouTube channel. In addition to live coverage, you can find highlights, interviews, and other awesome content from the competition. Viewers outside of the States and Canada can also access this content, but live coverage will be blocked (hence why you might need a good quality VPN).

If you're lucky enough to be in the U.S. or Canada, your viewing options aren't limited either, as live coverage is also available on the Olympics channel via Olympics.com. Here, you'll have access to even more highlights, build-up, and reaction to competition.

Traveling outside the U.S or Canada? You can still watch live as usual by using a quality VPN like NordVPN, which allows you to access the streams as if you were sitting on your sofa back home. Find out more below.

Use a VPN to watch the Climbing World Championships Seoul from anywhere

If you’re traveling overseas during the 2025 World Championships, geo-blocking restrictions mean you probably won't be able to watch as you usually would back home.

That doesn't mean you have to miss out, however. All you need to do to watch as if you were back home is get yourself a VPN (Virtual Private Network) – assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, of course. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are. As an added bonus, the info going back and forth is also entirely encrypted.

In a competitive field, our expert colleagues at TechRadar put NordVPN at the top of the podium for VPN services. Right now, you can snag up to 70% off NordVPN, but don't sleep on this deal - it ends on July 31.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the IFSC World Championships from the UK and Europe

Thanks to a recently agreed rights deal, viewers in the United Kingdom and Europe can stream most of the 2025 IFSC sport climbing events exclusively on Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming services.

In the UK and Ireland that means TNT Sports, which you can access via a subscription to Discovery+ Premium. It will cost you £30.99 per month in the UK and you’ll also get access to Champions League (TechRadar) and Premier League football, Premiership rugby, cycling and loads more top sporting action. Alternatively, TNT Sports can be added to your Sky, BT, EE or Virgin Media TV package – costs vary by platform.

In Europe, you can watch 2025 Climbing World Championships live streams on Eurosport or via the Discovery+ platform.

And don’t forget, if you’re going to be traveling away from home during any of the Climbing World Championships events, you can use a VPN to watch your usual service as if you were back home.

About this week's event

he 19th edition of the IFSC Climbing World Championships will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from 21 to 28 September 2025 at the KSPO Dome. The event covers three main disciplines—Lead, Boulder, and Speed—as well as Para-Climbing.

In Lead, top climbers include Austria’s Jakob Schubert, the defending men’s world champion, and Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, whose haul of world-championship medals is just below Schubert’s but whose recent form makes her a favourite. (per IFSC Climbing) In Speed, world record holders such as Sam Watson and Aleksandra Miroslaw will be among the favourites, though some previous champions (such as Veddriq Leonardo and Desak Dewi) will not compete (per IFSC Climbing)

In Boulder, France and Japan present deep lineups. Janja Garnbret will defend the women’s title; for the men, since Mickael Mawem (the 2023 men’s Boulder champ) is not competing, a new champion is assured. Rising climbers, new finalists and young talent also feature prominently in previews.

The competition schedule starts with qualifications in the early days, leading into finals for Speed and Boulder mid-week, and culminating with Lead finals toward the end.