For immediate release
Lausanne, 10 December 2014

Four cities have entered the race to win the right to host the 2019 World Rowing Championships. They are Hamburg (Germany), Linz-Ottensheim (Austria), Racice (Czech Republic) and Varese (Italy).

“To receive four excellent bids for the 2019 World Rowing Championships is a particularly healthy position for our sport. It justifies the efforts that are being made by the organisers and FISA to make the World Rowing regattas more attractive for the rowers, the spectators and the growing television audiences,” said Matt Smith, FISA Executive Director.

The World Rowing Championships is rowing’s top event of the year and in 2019 it will also double as the main Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

This means that the number of participating countries is expected to be higher and also the interest around the event increases considerably due to the Olympic element.

All four bid venues have been previous hosts of World Rowing events. Earlier this year Hamburg hosted the World Rowing Junior Championships and they also hosted one of the 2011 World Rowing Cups. Racice has hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1993, the World Rowing Junior Championships in 2010 and will host the European Rowing Junior Championships in 2015. For Varese, they most recently played host to the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and in 2015 they will stage the second World Rowing Cup. Linz-Ottensheim hosted a World Rowing Cup in 2007, hosted the World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in 2008 and in 2013 it was the host of the World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

The candidates will develop and upgrade their venues to World Rowing Championship standard as well as taking into consideration the sustainability and legacy of hosting the event.

In October representatives of the four candidate venues were invited to the FISA headquarters in Lausanne for individual bid seminars which included a detailed explanation of the bid process, how to complete the bid questionnaire and a discussion on venue upgrades required for each venue.

The attribution of the event will take place on the 7 September 2015 during the FISA Congress in Aiguebelette, France, following the 2015 World Rowing Championships.

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