European Aquatics has announced the discipline dates for the 2026 European Aquatics Championships, which will be held at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Paris St. Denis.
The 2026 European Aquatics Championships, the premier edition of the quad, will run from July 31 to August 16, 2026.
- Artistic Swimming: July 31-August 5
- Diving: July 31-August 6
- Open Water Swimming: August 4-August 8
- Swimming: August 10-August 16
- High Diving: TBC
The event, held in even numbered years, will include five of the six traditional aquatics disciplines, with water polo holding a separate championship as it has since 1997 (with a new host to be determined).
The meet schedule will have the jewel event – pool swimming – in the back-half of the meet schedule, which breaks from the pattern of the last decade where in these inter-Olympic editions (aka non-Olympic years) have led off with swimming.
This later timing will avoid a direct conflict with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which are being held in an abbreviated format and timeline from July 23-August 2. Pool swimming is the only overlapping discipline between the two events after diving was left off the schedule for the first time in the event’s history.
Glasgow and Paris are only 2 hours apart by plane, and Paris time is only 1 hour later than Glasgow. The primary European nation that participates in the Commonwealth Games is the United Kingdom (and its various subsidiary parts like England, Scotland, and Wales). Cyprus and Malta also participate in both events.
Instead, artistic swimming and diving will be held in the first week of the European Championship, while pool swimming won’t begin until August 10 – after all of the other sports have completed. There is usually some overlap, which can lead to some unique venue scheduling challenges.
Open water swimming will be held in the Seine, the same venue as the Olympic open water swimming was in 2024, which is believed to have led to illness among some open water swimming and triathlon participants.
While the Seine was not open to the public in summer 2024, there will be three designated public swimming spots from July 5 as part of the city’s Olympic legacy program.
The Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre is also part of the Olympic legacy, which was the only new, permanent venue built for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The pool had a capacity of 5,000 for the Olympics, which is being reduced to 2,500 post-Games. It hosted diving, water polo, and artistic swimming competitions during the Olympic Games, with pool swimming being hosted in La Defense Arena, which has returned to its primary function as an indoor rugby and concert venue.
