Beach Volleyball World Championships sets itself for SA

Beach Volleyball’s biggest global tournament of the year is coming to Adelaide, after South Australia won the rights to stage another major sporting event.

The FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championships will be held in Australia for the first time – with the world’s players best lobbing into Adelaide in November 2025.

The World Championships will be held on the courts of The Drive, with around 1000 cubic metres of sand brought in to turn the famed North Adelaide tennis venue into a beach volleyball colosseum.

About a thousand athletes, staff, officials, media and volunteers will converge on Adelaide for the event, which is likely to feature 192 players.

Volleyball Australia expects the event to attract more than 11,000 spectators from interstate and more than 6,000 from overseas.

Last year’s World Championships were held in Rome and attracted 16 million global fans on Volleyball World’s digital platforms. This year, Volleyball World claimed the top spot as the best performing International Federation on social media.

Held every two years, the Championships are one of the highest honours in International Beach Volleyball, surpassed only by the Olympics.

The 2023 World Championships are being held in Mexico, while at the 2024 Paris Olympics beach volleyball will be played under the world-famous Eiffel Tower.

The FIVB World Championships will add to the impressive and successful major sporting events being staged in Adelaide including LIV Golf, AFL’s Gather Round, Santos Tour Down Under, Adelaide 500, Adelaide Equestrian Festival, this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and last night’s NRL State of Origin.

The South Australian Tourism Commission will lead the delivery of the event on behalf of the State Government.

The deal also guarantees Adelaide hosting rights for a further seven national and Asian volleyball competitions between 2024 and 2026.

Volleyball Australia President Craig Carracher said it was fitting the World Championships are coming to South Australia.

“History shows that having the opportunity to compete at a home World Championships provides a real home court advantage and I know our leading players will be primed to take on the world in front of a home crowd,” Mr Carracher said.