Why are the 2016 World Climbing Championships taking place in Paris?

After the European Championships in 2008 and the World Championships in 2012, the FFME will once again be using the AccorHotels Arena to host the 2016 World Climbing Championships 2016.  We asked Pierre-Henri Paillasson, the FFME Managing Director and National Technical Director, the FFME President Pierre You, and  Marco Scolaris, the IFSC: « why are we going again? »

« There were several reasons behind us offering to host the event again. I think what swung it for everybody concerned was that it was such a great success in 2012. It really was a great party! », says Pierre-Henri Paillasson. Pierre You agrees: « We organised a great World Championships in 2012, and since then we’ve just wanted to do even better! »
Obviously, as you can imagine, a national federation doesn’t decide to organise a world championships just because a good time was had by all. It’s part of a strategy to develop the sport at the international level.

A step closer to the Olympic dream
No doubt you have grasped the idea behind this logic: a successful World Championships is a serious argument for sports climbing. And a great showcase for the sport with the prospect of being in the list of sports for the Tokyo Olympic games in 2020.
« A successful, spectacular World Championships is one of the best arguments we can put forward for our bid. Bercy totally met that challenge in 2012. I have no doubt that all of the FFME teams involved in the next edition will succeed in this new mission. », concludes Pierre-Henri Paillasson. A sentiment that is echoed again by the Federation’s President: « it’s a decisive year on the road to the Olympic dream. It means a lot to France, as one of the founding nations of climbing and at the forefront of the discipline at international level, to be able to host the world’s top climbing competition. »

Close cooperation with the international Federation
Going into the competition, the FFME can count on the unfailing support of the IFSC, climbing’s international governing body. « Four years after the success of the World Championships that took place at Paris Bercy in 2012, climbing is back in 2016 in the completely renovated AccorHotels Arena. As the climbing world awaits confirmation that the sport is selected for the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 – the list of sports to be included will be announced in August 2016 – this major international event will be the highlight of an exceptionally rich year. It is a unique event in terms of its size and the fact that it showcases the best able-bodied and handicapped athletes on the planet », declared Marco Scolaris, President of the IFSC.