Want to Stream Climbing at the Paris Olympics? Here’s How
We've got you covered on how and when to watch climbing at the Summer Games, regardless of where you're located
Photo by: Lena Drapella/IFSC
We’re two weeks away from the biggest event in comp climbing history – the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Summer Games kick off on July 26, with the climbing events running from August 5 to 10. Paris marks the second time the sport of climbing has been included in the Olympics. Unlike the first time in 2021 in Tokyo, climbing is going to be split into two different disciplines in Paris: Boulder & Lead Combined and Speed. In total, twenty men and twenty women will compete in the Boulder & Lead Combined event. Fourteen athletes in each gender category will face off in Speed.
If you’re like most climbers, you excited to watch many of the world’s best climbers compete in Paris. Finding a uninterrupted livestream or a full-length, unedited replay for free however, is not as straightforward as you might think. Free broadcasters often selectively choose which events to showcase, making it tough to closely follow an event from qualifiers to semi-finals to finals. These broadcast schedules are unpredictable, often changing last minute in response to how a particular country is performing in an event.
Coverage is too often shortened and editorialized, meaning you might miss out on watching a particular athlete or event stage you’re most interested in. Where full, unedited livestreams and replays are potentially available, they often come with an expensive price tag.
To get around these issues, many people use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to watch the Olympics. If don’t have access to a livestream or replay that’s both unedited and free – such as in the United States – you can use a VPN to watch the Olympics on a website or app from another English-speaking country such as Canada or Australia offering free, high-quality streams.
Free Broadcasters of the Paris Olympics Around the World
In Canada, all Olympic events can be livestreamed on CBC Gem for free! On-demand, full-length event replays will also be available for free to watch at your leisure after an event ends. There’s a similar free offering in Australia through 9Now. BBC iPlayer will be offering 250+ hours of free Olympic programming in the United Kingdom. Note that climbing (both Boulder & Lead Combined and Speed) is called “Sport Climbing” in the Olympics. Keep this in mind when searching for streams on your preferred platform.
Where to Stream the Olympics in the U.S.A
In the United States, Olympic events will be streamed on Peacock, a streaming service from NBC. To access all Olympic event livestreams and on-demand replays, you can purchase Peacock Premium for $7.99 (USD) per month.
Olympic sporting events will also be broadcast on the TV channels NBC, USA Network, E!, CNBC, and Golf. Each broadcaster will play different sets of events. Climbing will not be covered in full by any of these channels. NBC, E!, and USA Network will cover some climbing events but not all.
SlingTV offers a package that includes NBC, E!, and USA Network for $40 (USD) per month. YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV also includes all these channels but they cost over $70 (USD) per month.
Where to Stream the Olympics in the U.K.
In the United Kingdom, the Olympic livestreams for every event are being provided by Discovery+ for £6.99 per month. BBC will be offering some free streams on its platforms, including BBC iPlayer, but the climbing coverage will not be extensive for these free services.
How to Watch the Paris Olympics with a VPN
In you’re in a location without access to free, full-length, unedited livestreams and replays of Olympic climbing events, such as in the United States, you should consider using a VPN to view Canadian or Australian streams through CBC Gem or 9Now. A VPN works by securely encrypting your internet connection, routing it through a remote server operated by a VPN provider. Once connected, you’re all set to enjoy the 2024 Paris Olympics hassle-free from wherever you are in the world by following these simple steps:
- Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
- Download the app to your device of choice
- Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that is offering free streaming of the Paris Olympics
- Connect to your preferred streaming platform like CBC Gem or 9Now
- Watch the Paris Olympics from anywhere in the world!
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Paris Olympics Climbing Schedule
Monday August 5
- Men’s Boulder Semi-final – 4:00am ET (1:00am PT)
- Women’s Speed Qualification – 7:00am ET (4:00am PT)
Tuesday August 6
- Women’s Boulder Semi-final – 4:00am ET (1:00am PT)
- Men’s Speed Qualification – 7:00am ET (4:00am PT)
Wednesday August 7
- Men’s Lead Semi-final – 4:00am ET (1:00am PT)
- Women’s Speed Quarter-final, Semi-final, & Final – 6:35am ET (3:35am PT)
Thursday August 8
- Women’s Lead Semi-final – 4:00am ET (1:00am PT)
- Men’s Speed Quarter-final, Semi-final, & Final – 6:35am ET (3:35am PT)
Friday August 9
- Men’s Boulder Final – 4:15am ET (1:15am PT)
- Men’s Lead Final – 6:35am ET (3:35am PT)
Saturday August 10
- Women’s Boulder Final – 4:15am ET (1:15am PT)
- Women’s Lead Final – 6:35am ET (3:35am PT)
List of Climbers Competing in Boulder & Lead
With the wrap-up of the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) at the end of June, all Olympic qualifying spots have now been determined. For each gender category in Boulder & Lead, three spots were awarded at last summer’s World Championships in Bern, one spot was awarded at each of the five continental qualifier events, and 12 spots were awarded at the two-part OQS in Shanghai and Budapest.
See below for the full list of men and women who have qualified for the Boulder & Lead event at the Paris Olympics. We list climber name, nationality, and how they secured their Olympic qualifying ticket.
MEN
- Jakob Schubert (AUT) – 1st at World Championships 2023
- Colin Duffy (USA) – 2nd at World Championships 2023
- Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) – 3rd at World Championships 2023
- Toby Roberts (GBR) – 1st at European Qualifier
- Jesse Grupper (USA) – 1st at Pan American Games
- Sorato Anraku (JPN) – 1st at Asian Qualifier
- Campbell Harrison (AUS) – 1st at Oceania Qualifier
- Mel Janse van Rensburg (RSA) – 1st at African Qualifier
- Dohyun Lee (KOR) – 1st at OQS
- Sam Avezou (FRA) – 2nd at OQS
- Adam Ondra (CZE) – 3rd at OQS
- Alberto Ginés López (ESP) – 4th at OQS
- Hannes van Duysen (BEL) – 5th at OQS
- Paul Jenft (FRA) – 6th at OQS
- Yannick Flohé (GER) – 8th at OQS
- Hamish McArthur (GBR) – 9th at OQS
- Sascha Lemann (SUI) – 10th at OQS
- Alex Megos (GER) – 11th at OQS
- Luka Potočar (SLO) – 12th at OQS
- Yufei Pan (CHN) – 13th at OQS
WOMEN
- Janja Garnbret (SLO) – 1st at World Championships 2023
- Jessica Pilz (AUT) – 2nd at World Championships 2023
- Ai Mori (JPN) – 3rd at World Championships 2023
- Oriane Bertone (FRA) – 1st at European Qualifier
- Natalia Grossman (USA) – 1st at Pan American Games
- Yuetong Zhang (CHN) – 1st at Asian Qualifier
- Oceania Mackenzie (AUS) – 1st at Oceania Qualifier
- Lauren Mukheibir (RSA) – 1st at African Qualifier
- Brooke Raboutou (USA) – 1st at OQS
- Miho Nonaka (JPN) – 2nd at OQS
- Erin McNeice (GBR) – 3rd at OQS
- Chaehuyn Seo (KOR) – 4th at OQS
- Zhilu Luo (CHN) – 5th at OQS
- Ievgeniia Kazbekova (UKR) – 6th at OQS
- Mia Krampl (SLO) – 8th at OQS
- Lucia Dörffel (GER) – 9th at OQS
- Zélia Avezou (FRA) – 10th at OQS
- Camilla Moroni (ITA) – 11th at OQS
- Laura Rogora (ITA) – 12th at OQS
- Molly Thompson-Smith (GBR) – 13th at OQS
This story was presented by ExpressVPN
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