World-class rowing returns to Amsterdam’s historic forest course from 24 to 30 August 2026.
This August, Amsterdam will become the centre of the rowing world. From 24 to 30 August 2026, the Staatsloterij World Rowing Championships will bring more than 1,200 elite and para-rowing athletes from more than sixty countries to the Bosbaan in the Amsterdamse Bos. For one week, a venue woven into Dutch sporting life will become a global arena, with heats, semifinals and finals unfolding within cycling distance of the Zuidas and a short trip from the city centre.
For the Netherlands, the championships arrive at an exciting moment. Dutch rowing has become one of TeamNL’s most reliable sources of international medals, and the orange crowd will have reason to believe that home water can produce more than atmosphere. At the first World Rowing Cup of the 2026 season in Seville, the Dutch team won eight medals, including three golds. Head coach Titus Weijschedé has since emphasized continuity in the World Championship crews, a sign of confidence as the summer builds toward Amsterdam.
The 2026 event will also have a distinctly Dutch leadership. For the first time in World Rowing Championships history, the regatta will be led by two sporting directors: Ilse Paulis, Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and Nico Rienks, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and former national coach. Both know what it means to race, and win, under pressure. Paulis also knows what the Bosbaan can feel like when the grandstands are orange: in 2014 she became world champion there in front of family, friends and a roaring home crowd.
That history matters. The Bosbaan is not just a body of water in a park. It is one of the great old stages of rowing, a man-made course created in the 1930s as part of a social welfare and employment project and officially opened on 12 June 1937. Its name simply means “forest course”, and the setting is still part of its charm: long straight water bordered by trees, paths and the green expanse of the Amsterdamse Bos. Yet from the beginning, the Bosbaan was built for serious sport. It offered an alternative to racing on the Amstel or other open waterways, giving Dutch rowing a purpose-built home.
International rowing soon found its way there. The Bosbaan hosted European Rowing Championships in the mid-twentieth century and was later upgraded into a six-lane race course with an additional spare lane. In 1977, Amsterdam staged the World Rowing Championships there for the first time. A major modernization by the City of Amsterdam and the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation then broadened, deepened and renewed the course. Completed in 2002, the upgraded Bosbaan offered eight racing lanes and a length of about 2.3 kilometres. It went on to host the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in 2005, the World Junior Championships in 2006, a Rowing World Cup in 2007, and the World Rowing Championships again in 2014.
For spectators, rowing can be a revelation. On television, it sometimes seems like a smooth glide across water. In person, especially along a championship course, the sport is louder, more physical and more tactical than many newcomers expect. You hear the coxswain’s calls, the blades catching the water, the crowd reaction as a boat begins to move through the field. Races can turn in a few strokes. A crew that looks beaten at 1,500 metres can suddenly find rhythm and speed. The finish-line roar is one of the purest sounds in sport.
The programme in Amsterdam is designed to build through the week. Racing begins on Monday 24 August with afternoon heats in lightweight single sculls, pairs and double sculls. The following days add para-rowing events, fours, quadruple sculls and single sculls, before the medal races arrive in force. Friday 28 August includes A-finals in pairs, para mixed double sculls and double sculls. Saturday brings finals in PR1 single sculls, fours and quadruple sculls, plus heats for the eights. Sunday 30 August closes the championships with showpiece A-finals including the men’s eight, women’s single sculls, women’s eight, men’s single sculls and mixed boat classes. All times are local Amsterdam time and provisional, so visitors should check the official schedule before travelling.
The visitor experience should be part regatta, part Amsterdam summer day out. The official ticket shop offers day tickets, weekend tickets and week tickets, with a choice between general venue access and grandstand access. Adult tickets are for visitors aged 13 and older. Children’s tickets are available for ages 5 to 12, while children under five can enter free; on the grandstand they must sit on an adult’s lap. Accessible tickets include a companion ticket, although the number is limited per day. Grandstand seats will be assigned later and, importantly for Dutch August weather, the grandstand will not be covered.
A few practical details are worth noting. The event has a no re-entry policy, so plan your day before going through the gate. Bags larger than A4 size and thicker than 10 centimetres are not permitted, and visitors may not bring food and drink into the venue, although refillable water bottles are allowed. Professional filming equipment, drones, air horns, large flags, coolers, folding chairs and pets are also prohibited, with service dogs excepted.
Getting there will require a little planning. The Bosbaan lies on the green edge of the city, close to Amstelveen and the Zuidas rather than in the old centre. The organisers have said more detailed accessibility information will be published, and they do not sell parking tickets for the event. For most visitors, public transport, cycling or a combination of train and bike will be the sensible Amsterdam solution. The Amsterdamse Bos is served by buses from the city and is a familiar destination for local cyclists and runners.
What makes the 2026 championships attractive is not only the promise of medals. It is the meeting of city, sport and place: Amsterdam’s water culture, the Dutch love of bicycles and outdoor events, the Bosbaan’s deep rowing memory, and a national team that expects to contend. For seasoned fans, it is a rare chance to watch the world’s best from close range. For newcomers, it may be the perfect first regatta. Stand beside the course as the boats surge toward the line, and the phrase the organisers have used – kippenvel, goosebumps – begins to make perfect sense.
For information & tickets: 2026wramsterdam.nl/
Written by John Mahnen